Brooklyn Flexes Defensive Muscles In Victory
A move out West to begin a four-game road trip may bring the best out of the Brooklyn Nets if Tuesday night was any indication.
The Brooklyn Nets drubbed the Phoenix Suns 104-82 on Tuesday night at Talking Stick Resort Arena to win consecutive games for the first time this season.
The leading man for the Nets scoring-wise these first few weeks into the season, Caris LeVert scored a game-high 26 points to go along with five rebounds in the victory.
Five different Nets would end up in double figures, including Spencer Dinwiddie, who scored 12 points off the bench for Brooklyn.
The Nets came into this one as a team just in the upper half in terms of field goal percentage defense.
On Tuesday night they turned in their best defensive performance of the season to this point as they locked down the youthful Phoenix Suns.
The Brooklyn Nets held the Phoenix Suns to 34 percent shooting from the field and 36 percent from beyond the arc.
In the first half the Phoenix Suns were limited to just 10 points in the paint, a stat that shows second-year Jarrett Allen was a force in defending the painted area.
He limited the first overall pick in this past year’s NBA Draft in DeAndre Ayton to 35 percent shooting from the field, although Ayton finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
Devin Booker would lead the Phoenix Suns with 20 points on the night, but he too struggled with his shot as he was limited to 28 percent shooting.
In addition to dominating the Suns on the defensive side of the ball, the Nets outscored the Suns 21-10 in fastbreak points as well as a huge 54-30 edge in points in the paint.
The Brooklyn Nets (5-6) overcame the hex of being unable to win back-to-back games this season and their road trip is off to a stellar start.
Kenny Atkinson is doing an amazing job of with his rotations, forcing teams into mismatches with a lot of off-ball action and strong pick and roll play as LeVert is reaping the benefits of Brooklyn’s offensive sets.
Sure, they’d like to shoot better than 9-for-36 from beyond the arc, but when you’re playing as tight-knit as a unit defensively as well as they did tonight, no one’s complaining.
The next game will provide the Brooklyn Nets with a more difficult test as they try to slow down a red-hot Denver Nuggets team that sits at 9-1 to begin the year.
The Brooklyn Nets will visit the Pepsi Center to take on the Denver Nuggets on Friday night as they eye three consecutive wins.
What are your takeaways from Brooklyn’s dominant victory on Tuesday night? Leave your comments below!
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