The game reached its climax with a chaotic scene: a loose ball, a shove, and players diving in from all sides, leading to an extended pause that drained the energy from a nail-biting contest. This melee, involving Egor Dëmin and Dillon Brooks over a disputed ball, encapsulated a night of missed opportunities for the Brooklyn Nets. Despite a valiant effort, they succumbed to a 106-102 defeat against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday at Mortgage Matchup Center, marking their sixth consecutive loss and leaving them at a disheartening 12-33 record.
Turnovers plagued the Nets throughout the game, as they coughed up the ball 22 times, gifting the Suns 25 points. This carelessness was compounded by Phoenix’s dominance in the paint, where they outscored Brooklyn 72-48, overshadowing every attempt by the Nets to rally. “Those are just guys protecting each other and fighting for each other,” said head coach Jordi Fernández. “I think they did a great job. You’re not going to let any of your teammates get hit or pushed or anything. Obviously, there’s boundaries and we don’t want anyone to get hurt, but you saw a few dirty plays. They called it or they didn’t call it. I think it got out of hand because of that. But I like my guys sticking up for each other.”
The game started on shaky ground for Brooklyn. A missed three-pointer by Michael Porter Jr. on their first possession, followed by a Drake Powell turnover, quickly put the Nets in a 4-0 deficit. Despite coming off a modest nine-point performance against the Clippers, Porter set an assertive pace, scoring 10 of Brooklyn’s first 12 points by aggressively attacking the rim, keeping them within striking distance of a Suns squad that started strong, with Brooks contributing seven points early on.
Trailing by nine points with just under five minutes remaining in the first quarter, Fernández turned to his bench, sparking a shift in momentum. The defense intensified, with Day’Ron Sharpe muscling his way to six quick points. Cam Thomas found his rhythm with a couple of early baskets, providing Brooklyn with much-needed scoring beyond Porter. The Nets didn’t seize their first lead until the final seconds of the quarter, courtesy of a Sharpe putback, concluding a 15-5 run that propelled them to a 29-28 advantage heading into the second quarter.
This turnaround marked the first time since January 16 that Brooklyn had won the opening quarter, thanks in part to rookie Ben Saraf, who injected energy with two assists in his initial three minutes. Although Nolan Traore was available after recovering from an illness, he remained on the sidelines as Thomas and Saraf commanded the backcourt duties.
It marked the first time Brooklyn won the opening quarter since Jan. 16, with rookie Ben Saraf helping fuel the late push by handing out two assists in his first three minutes. Nolan Traore was available after dealing with an illness but didn’t play, as Thomas and Saraf handled the backcourt minutes.
Brooklyn didn’t make its first field goal of the second quarter until the 9:03 mark, when Ziaire Williams buried a 24-footer. Fernández went back to his starters with 7:01 left in the half and that’s when the game began to slide again. A miss from Dëmin. A miss from Porter. The margin stretched to six before Dëmin stopped the bleeding with a jumper at the 5:28 mark.
Even after a Nigel Hayes-Davis turnover forced Phoenix into a timeout, the Nets couldn’t slow the slide and the Suns soon pushed the lead to 12, their largest of the half. A Porter backcut dunk off a sharp pass from Ziaire Williams cut it to a nine-point game at the break.
Porter scored 19 of his season-high 36 points in the first half, helping Brooklyn shoot 53.8%, but 10 turnovers that turned into 14 Suns points loomed large early. Dëmin and Saraf combined for four of those giveaways. Phoenix also got 10 points from Mark Williams in the first quarter and 11 from Brooks in the second.
One of Fernández’s halftime adjustments was starting Ziaire Williams in place of Powell, who finished the opening half with little to show beyond a lone turnover and a minus-9 in just over eight minutes. Porter opened the third quarter with eight straight points, including a pair of threes, pushing his total to 27 with 9:47 left in the third and trimming the deficit to three. But three straight turnovers from Ziaire Williams, Terance Mann and Dëmin allowed Phoenix to rebuild a 10-point cushion in a matter of minutes.
Despite six more turnovers, Porter’s 11 points gave the Nets a 24-22 edge in the third and kept them within striking distance heading into the fourth.
Williams, Dëmin and Porter each knocked down threes early in the final frame, with a Thomas bucket and a pair of Sharpe free throws mixed in, as Brooklyn cut the deficit to two with 5:52 left. A few possessions later, Mann drove into the paint, absorbed hard contact from Grayson Allen and finished through it to tie the game at 93. The contact was ruled excessive, Allen was hit with a technical and Mann’s free throw put the Nets back in front for the first time since early in the second while allowing them to keep the ball.
Dëmin followed with another trey, his third of the night, giving Brooklyn its largest lead at four. Moments later, everything boiled over.
As Ziaire Williams battled Brooks, Allen and Jamaree Bouyea for a loose ball, Dëmin shoved Brooks, igniting a scrum that pulled in Royce O’Neale, Mann and the Nets bench. After an 11-minute delay, Dëmin, Mann and Porter were assessed technical fouls for Brooklyn, while O’Neale and Allen were hit with technicals for Phoenix. The Suns were awarded one free throw before a jump ball. Allen missed the free throw, but Phoenix won the tip. Ziaire Williams, injured on the initial play, was replaced by Saraf to close the game.
Brooklyn still had a chance. After Porter picked off Allen with 58.8 seconds left, Fernández called timeout with the Nets trailing 104-102. Out of the break, Dëmin’s three-pointer came up short, Brooklyn secured the offensive rebound and then turned it over. Allen pushed the lead to four on the next possession, making it a two-possession game with 12.8 seconds left and effectively sealing it.
Dëmin finished with 15 points, five rebounds and three assists, with six of those points coming in the fourth. Porter carried the scoring load all night, while Phoenix leaned on Brooks and Mark Williams, who poured in 26 and 27 points, respectively, with Devin Booker out.
Fernández said the Nets don’t know what Ziaire Williams’ injury is or the severity of it yet.
Brooklyn continues its West Coast swing Thursday against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena.
