Kyrie Irving and the Nets wake up late in Phoenix

Brooklyn had the better start, but Phoenix quickly regained control. Always missing Chris Paul and Devin Booker, Monty Williams’ squad is enough to force the Nets defense to rotate to end up with profitable duels under the rim for Deandre Ayton, who takes advantage of it.

The gap begins to rise and reaches +24 (81-57) in the third quarter. Note that Ben Simmons was fired immediately after returning from the locker room. Even though the matchup was already tough for him, he was whistled for his fifth foul on a poorly placed screen (in 18 minutes) and he followed it up with a two-technique that sent him straight to the locker room. A blowout that didn’t help the Nets already cost Kevin Durant…

At the time, we thought it wasn’t the crowd, but Kyrie Irving would make the first push, assisted by Joe Harris and Seth Curry, to get back within 12 points (81-69). After that, the Suns would react with a double Lee (Saben and Damion) and the difference increased to +20 (84-64) at the end of the third quarter.

The problem is that this Phoenix team lacks confidence, especially without its two leaders, and Kyrie Irving’s explosive awakening (21 points in the final quarter!) will give Arizona fans. The Nets would come back for a possession in the final seconds, but a smart foul on Nic Claxton, who missed his first free throw and couldn’t touch the rim in the second to play the offensive rebound, would finally give Phoenix a chance. avoiding the worst (117-112) and resurrecting.

WHAT TO REMEMBER

– The return of Cam Johnson. The winger made a good return to Phoenix. Coming off the bench, he scored 19 points in 22 minutes. Even if it doesn’t solve all the problems on its own.

– Two failed neighborhoods from Brooklyn. With a sluggish Kyrie Irving, a benched Ben Simmons and a still-troublesome rebounding problem, the Nets floundered in the second and third quarters. Enough to be too late, even against a Phoenix team that was in full doubt and still teetering on disaster.

– Kyrie Irving waking up too late. 3/16 shooting and -17 +/- through the first three quarters. In the absence of Kevin Durant, the Brooklyn point guard finally seemed unlikely before waking up in the final quarter (+21 points on 8/11 and +15 on +/-).

NEW OWNER ON THE SIDE OF THE SQUARE

Although the sale has not yet been finalized, the Suns have seen new owner Mat Ishbia on the sidelines. The businessman, who bought the club (along with Mercury) for $ 4 billion, behaved suspiciously in his first game as a club boss. And some fears…

TOPS/FLOPS

✅ Damion and Saben Lee. In the absence of Chris Paul and Devin Booker, Monty Williams relied on Lee’s impressive duo to turn his offense around. And even if the last quarter showed how unaccustomed they were to playing this role, the two men now responded …

✅ Deandre Ayton – Nic Claxton duel. The first (24 points, 14 rebounds) applied his strength and technique near the circle, the second (20 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks) showed more mobility. We’ll forget his money-time 3-pointer or his last missed free throws.

✅ Mikal bridges. In a lackluster offense, he searched and found his spots to finish as his team’s top scorer (28 points) and top passer (9 assists).

✅⛔️ Kyrie Irving As explained, his first three quarters were as terrible as his last quarter was incredible. Even if he ran out in the end, it left him with the shots he needed to get back.

⛔️ Ben Simmons. Disappointment, mistakes and dismissal. A completely unsuccessful evening.

NEXT

Phoenix (22-24): The Suns will look to snap the streak against the Pacers on Saturday night (3:00 p.m.).

Brooklyn (27-17): Complex back-to-back in Salt Lake City (03:00)