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The Brooklyn Nets were severely under-manned against the Phoenix Suns Tuesday night. By severely undermanned, I mean without the availability of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving- two of the most gifted scorers in the NBA. To add on to that, the Nets faced a deficit of 24 points against an on-fire Suns team. But James Harden and the Nets had one thing to say: “No problem,” as they beat the Suns 128-124.
This game was a story of two halves. The Suns were shooting the lights off the arena for the first two quarters, gaining precious contributions from stars Chris Paul and Devin Booker, who had a combined 30 points, as well as key role players in Deandre Ayton, Mikal Bridges, and Jae Crowder getting buckets. In moments with Paul off the floor, they were able to push the ball faster and were able to knock down shots from the outside. They had a total of 75 points at half-time and were on pace for a historic offensive night.Then the second half happened, and the Nets showed why they’re one of the top most dangerous offenses in the association. They put up a total of 74 points in the second half, as well as holding the Suns to 49 in the final two quarters. James Harden played as well as expected in the second half, scoring 18 and assisting on seven Nets scores. Other contributors in the half were the sharp-shooting Tyler Johnson, who hit four three-pointers, and Joe Harris who had 15 points. Jeff Green also played a huge role, making crucial free throws and scoring 11 points in the comeback effort.
The fourth quarter was like a heavy-weight boxing match, with both teams going blow for blow until the game was over. Chris Paul would hit a huge three, Jeff Green would hit one in return in an incredibly entertaining final quarter. But in the end, the Nets were able to make just one more play as James Harden knocked a step-back go-ahead three with less than 30 seconds left.
James Harden had a double-double tonight with 38 points and 11 rebounds. The second leading scorer for Brooklyn was Joe Harris, who shot 62% from the field and netted 22 points. Tyler Johnson, Landry Shamet, and Jeff Green were other scorers in double digits tonight.
Chris Paul was the leading scorer for the Suns with 29 points and 7 assists. Devin Booker had 22 points, but only scored four total points in the second half. All starters for the Suns were in double digits.
For the Nets, this was a perfect showcase of the team they could possibly become later in the season. They can put up points at will, that was almost a given when you have three all-stars in your starting lineup. Defense has been their lingering and present issue early in this season. However, in the second half they were able to pull out a heroic defensive effort that allowed them to come back and win. If they can consistently have strong performances on both sides of the ball, the Nets will be the team we always thought they would be. For now, I’ll remain skeptical on the defensive end.
For the Suns, this is a demoralizing loss. A lot of things had to go wrong in the second half for them to lose, and unfortunately for all Suns fans, they did. They’re still one of the hottest teams in the league, but they’re going to learn to keep the pressure on good teams and close out games they should win. The Suns will be fine on both ends and continue to get better. This is just an unfortunate result in a game that looked to be over at halftime.
The Suns look to get back to their winning ways this Friday against New Orleans.
The Nets look to build off their huge comeback and continue their winning ways against the Los Angeles Lakers Thursday night in L.A.
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