Defensive woes continued for the Nets on Monday as they were lit up by the Suns 126-117 before a crowd of 17,344 at Barclays Center.
Even without Egor Dëmin, Cam Thomas and Day’Ron Sharpe, Brooklyn’s offense looked solid. But their play on the other end of the court was putrid yet again, far too poor for them to overcome.
The Nets (12-29) have dropped seven of their last eight, and it’s hard to imagine them winning unless they shore up their sieve-like defense.
Brooklyn allowed 57.1 percent shooting overall, and 20-for-39 from 3-point range.
Michael Porter Jr. had 23 points to lead seven Nets in double figures. But they couldn’t buy a stop on the other end, trailing by as many as 20 points.
Brooklyn remains fifth in the lottery race. They’re a game behind idle Sacramento, and kept pace a game ahead of sixth-place Utah, which lost.
The Nets allowed a misprint-like 71.4 percent in a first quarter that saw them fall behind by 15. They conceded 6-for-9 from deep in that opening period, and trailed 28-13.
Dillon Brooks scored 27 points and Devin Booker 24 for the Suns.
Jordan Ott — who spent six years as a Nets assistant from 2016-22 — came back for the first time as a head coach. His Suns, projected to win just 30 games this season, are on pace for 50. They’re 11-4 over their past 15 games and lit up the Nets.
Brooklyn led 9-7 after Nic Claxton (12 points, eight rebounds, six assists) kicked out to Noah Clowney for a 3-pointer. But they allowed the next eight points in a run that eventually reached 21-4.
The Nets spent the rest of the night chasing.
Booker hit a short jumper to put the Nets in a 64-44 hole.
It was still 72-57 with 1:37 left in the half before the Nets closed on an 11-0 run, capped by Terance Mann’s 3-pointer to beat the buzzer.
That got the Nets within four at the break.
The Nets fell behind by 18 in the fourth quarter before they mounted a 16-3 run to get back in it. Porter’s jumper pulled them within five, and he scored again to make it 114-109 with 5:34 to play.
A Clowney and-one on a driving floater pulled the Nets within 118-114. Brooks drilled a 3-pointer to temporarily kill the momentum, but — playing into his villain persona a bit too much — he picked up a technical that the Nets converted.
But the Nets imploded down the stretch.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
