"Shawn Marion made Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle sound like a prophet.

Two days after Carlisle described him as his best player, Marion poured in a season-high 29 points to pace the Mavs to a 93-87 victory over the Phoenix Suns.

Marion converted 11 of 21 shots, including back-to-back 3-point baskets that gave the Mavs a 70-55 lead with 4:41 remaining in the third quarter.

"Shawn was great tonight," Carlisle said. "A lot of the plays he made were ones that were very kindly -- late clock.

"The 3s that he hit in the third quarter were huge. Every night we're going to need somebody to step up big, and tonight he was the big star.""