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The Brooklyn Nets (12-33) came into Tuesday's game at the Phoenix Suns (28-19) on a five-game losing streak hoping to get themselves to a point where they could end their losing streak early on in the road trip. Brooklyn had plenty of chances to make the plays necessary to win this game, but Phoenix was able to come away with some clutch plays in the final moments.
The Nets lost at the Suns on Tuesday 106-102 after coming back from a 12-point deficit to make this game interesting in the fourth quarter that had some tense encounters along the way. Forward Michael Porter Jr. led the way for Brooklyn with 36 points and five rebounds while rookie guard Egor Demin had 15 points and three assists as he stepped up his game late in the final period.
While Brooklyn had a much-better performance on the offensive end of the floor than they've had recently, they still allowed Phoenix to shoot a scorching-hot 57.0% from the field with center Mark Williams scoring 27 points to led the Suns in scoring. Brooklyn's losing streak has been extended to six games so here are the Nets player grades after Tuesday's loss at the Suns:
Demin did a good job of scoring the ball overall despite his struggles shooting the ball from three-point land, at least compared to his usual standards from that range. Demin did a good job rebounding, but he struggled to take care of the basketball on the defensive end of the floor and had some moments on defense where he needed to play with more intensity.
Powell didn't have a good start to this game as he didn't make much of an impact during his eight minutes played in the first half and that seemed to set the tune for the rest of his night. Powell was essentially benched by head coach Jordi Fernandez after limited playing time, showing that he was looking to go somewhere else with those minutes instead of to the athletic rookie.
Mann remained in the starting lineup with Noah Clowney still out of the rotation due to back soreness and Mann was one of the players that struggled to make a consistent impact against the Suns. Mann was efficient with his touches on the offensive end of the floor, but he struggled with turnovers and he has had better days defending his man at the point of attack.
Porter had been struggling with his shooting efficiency for much of January as it seemed that opposing teams were keying in on him in order to make him either give the ball up or take tougher shots on average. In this one, Porter flipped the script on the Suns as he turned most of his attempts into drives to the basket before turning to his game from behind the three-point line to have one of his best, all-around shooting performances this season.
Claxton has been struggling to shoot the basketball while dealing with an injury to his pinky finger and those shooting struggles continued in this one, especially with him going against Mark Williams, a talented center with decent timing as a shot-blocker. Claxton did a great job of doing everything else as he rebounded well, made plenty of nice passes, and protected the rim when he was in the area.
Williams did a good job of shooting the ball from behind the three-point line, but he struggled with his scoring overall as his drives to the basket didn't prove to be as fruitful as they have been recently. Williams' aggressiveness on both ends of the floor has still be notable and he also did a great job of making plays for his teammates off the dribble.
Wolf struggled scoring the ball overall as he couldn't get anything to fall from three-point land to pair with his success scoring in the paint against the Suns. Wolf did a good job of rebounding the basketball, but he struggled with turnovers so that remains part of his game that he has to refine if he is going to handle the ball more within the offense.
Sharpe had a solid, all-around game in this one as he scored the ball well around the basket while also rebounding well on both glasses. Sharpe did a good job of taking care of the ball despite how much pressure the Suns were applying and to his credit, he once again showed off how quick his hands are for a player of his size with how often he stole the ball.
Thomas had a solid outing on the offensive end of the floor as he found some of his shots in the face in Phoenix's ball pressure despite not getting much daylight to work with on most possessions. Thomas was aggressive with his drives to the basket, generating free-throws and he did a good job of running the offense with the ball in his hands on the majority of possessions.
Saraf saw more minutes at the NBA level with fellow rookie Nolan Traore essentially getting the night off as he recovers from his illness and Saraf showed some glimpses of his upside in this one. Saraf still has some moments where he is still too careless with the ball in his hands, but his defensive tenacity could be something to watch moving forward.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets' Michael Porter Jr. drops 36 points in 106-102 loss at Suns
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The Nets lost at the Suns on Tuesday 106-102 after coming back from a 12-point deficit to make this game interesting in the fourth quarter that had some tense encounters along the way. Forward Michael Porter Jr. led the way for Brooklyn with 36 points and five rebounds while rookie guard Egor Demin had 15 points and three assists as he stepped up his game late in the final period.
While Brooklyn had a much-better performance on the offensive end of the floor than they've had recently, they still allowed Phoenix to shoot a scorching-hot 57.0% from the field with center Mark Williams scoring 27 points to led the Suns in scoring. Brooklyn's losing streak has been extended to six games so here are the Nets player grades after Tuesday's loss at the Suns:
Egor Demin: B+
Demin did a good job of scoring the ball overall despite his struggles shooting the ball from three-point land, at least compared to his usual standards from that range. Demin did a good job rebounding, but he struggled to take care of the basketball on the defensive end of the floor and had some moments on defense where he needed to play with more intensity.
Drake Powell: F
Powell didn't have a good start to this game as he didn't make much of an impact during his eight minutes played in the first half and that seemed to set the tune for the rest of his night. Powell was essentially benched by head coach Jordi Fernandez after limited playing time, showing that he was looking to go somewhere else with those minutes instead of to the athletic rookie.
Terance Mann: C
Mann remained in the starting lineup with Noah Clowney still out of the rotation due to back soreness and Mann was one of the players that struggled to make a consistent impact against the Suns. Mann was efficient with his touches on the offensive end of the floor, but he struggled with turnovers and he has had better days defending his man at the point of attack.
Michael Porter Jr.: A
Porter had been struggling with his shooting efficiency for much of January as it seemed that opposing teams were keying in on him in order to make him either give the ball up or take tougher shots on average. In this one, Porter flipped the script on the Suns as he turned most of his attempts into drives to the basket before turning to his game from behind the three-point line to have one of his best, all-around shooting performances this season.
Nic Claxton: B+
Claxton has been struggling to shoot the basketball while dealing with an injury to his pinky finger and those shooting struggles continued in this one, especially with him going against Mark Williams, a talented center with decent timing as a shot-blocker. Claxton did a great job of doing everything else as he rebounded well, made plenty of nice passes, and protected the rim when he was in the area.
Ziaire Williams: A-
Williams did a good job of shooting the ball from behind the three-point line, but he struggled with his scoring overall as his drives to the basket didn't prove to be as fruitful as they have been recently. Williams' aggressiveness on both ends of the floor has still be notable and he also did a great job of making plays for his teammates off the dribble.
Danny Wolf: C-
Wolf struggled scoring the ball overall as he couldn't get anything to fall from three-point land to pair with his success scoring in the paint against the Suns. Wolf did a good job of rebounding the basketball, but he struggled with turnovers so that remains part of his game that he has to refine if he is going to handle the ball more within the offense.
Day'Ron Sharpe: B
Sharpe had a solid, all-around game in this one as he scored the ball well around the basket while also rebounding well on both glasses. Sharpe did a good job of taking care of the ball despite how much pressure the Suns were applying and to his credit, he once again showed off how quick his hands are for a player of his size with how often he stole the ball.
Cam Thomas: B-
Thomas had a solid outing on the offensive end of the floor as he found some of his shots in the face in Phoenix's ball pressure despite not getting much daylight to work with on most possessions. Thomas was aggressive with his drives to the basket, generating free-throws and he did a good job of running the offense with the ball in his hands on the majority of possessions.
Ben Saraf: C+
Saraf saw more minutes at the NBA level with fellow rookie Nolan Traore essentially getting the night off as he recovers from his illness and Saraf showed some glimpses of his upside in this one. Saraf still has some moments where he is still too careless with the ball in his hands, but his defensive tenacity could be something to watch moving forward.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets' Michael Porter Jr. drops 36 points in 106-102 loss at Suns
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