Coming off a quality win against the Pistons on Sunday, the Brooklyn Nets were able to keep their momentum going, defeating the Phoenix Suns 94-91. This marks the first time in the season that the Nets have won back to back games, and they now move to 5-13 on the year. The Suns will drop to 8-10, and they have now lost 5 of their last 6 games.
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Dec 1, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Jarrett Jack (2) shoots over Phoenix Suns forward Mirza Teletovic (35) during the first quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Right from the start of the game, the Suns tried to get their two guards Brandon Knight and Eric Bledsoe going on offense. While Bledsoe ultimately struggled in the game, Knight was able to torch the Nets defense, going for 26 points on 9 of 18 from the field. However, the Nets were able to get some quality stops on Knight late in the game, and they made him a virtual nonfactor in the 4th quarter.
Brook Lopez needed a bounce back effort after struggling in Detroit, and against Suns’ 22 year old center Alex Len, he was able to score 23 points on 10-20 from the field. Lopez has been hot and cold all season, but when he gets hot, the Nets always have more success. Lopez also had 6 rebounds and 2 assists.
The biggest bright spot for the Nets tonight was their bench, who combined for 35 of the team’s 94 points. They outscored the Suns’ bench by 15, and both Shane Larkin and Wayne Ellington ended in double digits. Larkin scored 11 points on 5 of 9 from the field, and he dished 8 assists as well. After coming off a strong 12 point performance against Detroit, Ellington followed it up with 11 tonight, shooting 5 of 7 from the field. Bojan Bogdanovic also had his best game in a while, scoring 7 points and snagging 7 rebounds. The Nets opted to leave Larkin and Ellington in for the entire 4th quarter, showing confidence in their abilities.
One player that did not have such a great night was Thaddeus Young, who could not seem to figure out Markieff Morris’s defense. On numerous occasions, Young attempted to go to his left hand in the post, but Morris was able to beat him to the spot. Young lost the handle on his dribble numerous times and shot just 3-14 from the field. However, he had a key jumper on a broken play with less than a minute in the game, putting the Nets up 94-89. This was a rare bad performance by him, so do not expect to see these struggles continue.
Despite having a 5-13 record, the Nets are still a team to be scared of. As explained in a previous article, a lot of the Nets’ struggles had to do with the brutality of their November schedule. Now that they have a long homestand, expect to see them bust out a couple long winning streaks. Tonight, they played like the team that everyone expected at the beginning of the year, and things are only going to get better as they continue to develop their chemistry.