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Suns 112, Nets 104

Alan Draper profile picture
Sports Editor
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PHOENIX — Reserve guards Gerald Green and Isaiah Thomas combined for 49 points and the Phoenix Suns rallied from a 19-point deficit in the second quarter to beat the Brooklyn Nets 112-104 Wednesday night.

Green had 18 of his 28 in the first half and Thomas had 17 of his 21 in the second half as the Suns snapped a five-game losing streak to the Nets — the longest winning streak the Nets had ever had over Phoenix.

Guard Goran Dragic added 18 points and six assists for the Suns, who led 2-0 but didn’t see the lead again until late in the third quarter. The Nets shot 71 percent in the first half and had control of the game, but they went ice cold after intermission and missed 29 of 40 shots from the field (27.5 percent).

Guard Joe Johnson had 21 points to lead the Nets and center Brook Lopez added 16, but none after intermission. Forward Mirza Teletovic added 16 points and four of Brooklyn’s nine 3-pointers.

Despite their shooting woes, the Nets still led 90-83 on a jumper by forward Kevin Garnett with 8:12 to go. But the Suns answered with an 18-4 run and took the lead for good at 95-94 on the first two of six straight points by Thomas, a floating 4-footer with 4:48 left.

The Nets made 12 of 17 shots in both the first and second quarters and that 70 percent clip kept them safely in front. Brooklyn scored 11 points off six Phoenix turnovers in the first 10 minutes and two 3-pointers – one by guard Bojan Bogdanovic and one by Teletovic – keyed a 10-0 run to give the Nets a 16-point lead at 29-13 with 2:18 left.

Brooklyn pushed the lead to 19 at 38-19 on two Jarrett Jack free throws with 10:19 left before Green heated up for the Suns. Green had all 18 of his first-half points in the final 8:54 of the half, and Phoenix whittled the lead to seven twice, the last time on forward Marcus Morris’ steal and layup with 1:38 left in the half.

But the Nets closed the half with a 9-2 run to take a 63-49 lead at the half, with Lopez scoring seven on a pair of 3-point plays and a technical free throw. He finished the half with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting in 15 minutes.

Phoenix rallied in the third. They scored the first nine points of the quarter and capped a 16-2 run when forward Markieff Morris tied the game at 69 on a nine-footer with 4:07 left. The Suns took their first lead since 2-0 at 78-77 on a 14-footer by center Alex Len with 51.9 seconds left, but Brooklyn closed the quarter with seven straight points including a 3-pointer just before the buzzer by Bogdanovic to make it 84-78 Nets.

NOTES: The Suns forced 27 Golden State turnovers in their 107-95 win over the Warriors on Sunday. That was the most turnovers Phoenix forced since Dec. 16, 2003, when the Seattle Supersonics had 27. … The game featured three sets of brothers: The Dragics (Goran and Zoran of the Suns), the Morrises (Markieff and Marcus of the Suns) and the Plumlees (Miles of the Suns and Mason of the Nets). Nets coach Lionel Hollins was an assistant to Paul Westphal when the Suns reached the NBA Finals in 1992-93, losing to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in six games. Now Westphal is an assistant to Hollins with the Nets. “I asked if he was interested in coaching and he said, ‘Sure if the right opportunity came around.’ I said, ‘What about assistant coach?’ He said, ‘Well, if it was with you.’ And lo and behold, down the road things opened up.”

Alan is an expert gambling writer who works as one of the chief editors for Basketball Insiders. He has been covering online gambling and sports betting for over 8 years, having written for the likes of Sportlens, Compare.bet, The Sports Daily, 90min, and TopRatedCasinos.co.uk. His particular specialisms include US online casinos and gambling regulations, and soccer and basketball betting. Based in London, Alan holds an MA in English Literature and is a passionate supporter of Chelsea FC.

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