The Brooklyn Nets hosted the Phoenix Suns at Barclays Center on Tuesday and lost 116-112. Phoenix has swept the regular-season series against Brooklyn 2-0.
For the Nets, Cam Thomas had 43 points and five rebounds while Nic Claxton had 17 points and 13 rebounds. TJ Warren had 17 points and Joe Harris had 8 points.
For the Suns, Deandre Ayton had 35 points and 15 rebounds while Mikal Bridges had 21 points and two assists. Devin Booker had 19 points and Cameron Johnson had 14 points.
In the first half, Brooklyn and Phoenix played to a standstill until the final minutes of the half. The Nets stayed close because of their ability to score in transition while also limiting the Suns scoring opportunities in the fastbreak.
In the second half, the Nets fought until the very end, but were unable to make any dents in terms of gaining a lead. As has been a common theme for the Nets this season, the Suns dominated in points in the paint 64-52.
Here are your Nets player grades:
Ben Simmons: C
Simmons had an okay performance in this one. As has been the case throughout this season, he did not shoot much at all. However, he did a decent job of getting on the boards and he made some nice passes to set up his teammates for easy buckets like he usually does. For as good as Simmons was passing the ball, he turned the ball over too many times. He did play solid defense in this one whenever he wasn’t guarding Deandre Ayton.
Cam Thomas: B
Thomas started off this game like a house ablaze. His scoring was working from all over the court, even from three-point land. However, Thomas’ shooting fell off a cliff in the second half as he couldn’t buy a bucket. Thomas did a good job rebounding and even though he made some good passes that led to scoring opportunities, he missed a good amount of easy passes that would’ve led to easy shots. But, it’s one area of growth for Thomas. Unsurprisingly, he had a tough time guarding Chris Paul and Devin Booker in this one.
Joe Harris: C-
Harris did not get much done in this game as he mostly struggled with shooting the ball. He was effective from behind the three-point line, but whenever Harris was run off the three, he had trouble making anything happen on offense. Harris was solid on the defensive end in this one despite that being a challenging area for him this season.
Royce O’Neale: C
O’Neale did not play well against the Suns. He had trouble shooting the ball all night long and he struggled keeping the ball in front of him or guarding without fouling. O’Neale did a good job helping out on the glass and he brought some value to the table with his passing ability in this one.
Nic Claxton: B+
Claxton had a good performance in this one. He did a great job of finishing at the rim and was efficient with his shots as usual. Claxton was all over the glass, but because he’s the main rim protector, Deandre Ayton got a good amount of offensive rebounds whenever Claxton was trying to help his teammates. Claxton played good defense aside from struggling to make Ayton uncomfortable at any point during their one-on-one matchups.
Patty Mills: D
Mills was unable to get anything going in this one. He did not make a shot as it looked like it just wasn’t his night. Mills did a good job of passing the ball when in the game, but his defense was not enough to keep him on the floor even with Brooklyn being short-handed.
Edmond Sumner: C-
Sumner had an okay performance in this contest. His main source of points came from free-throws so other than that, he wasn’t able to make anything happen on the offensive end. Sumner turned the ball over entirely too much, but he was effective on the defensive end.
David Duke Jr.: C-
Duke Jr. did not do much of anything in this one aside from getting a couple of buckets during his limited time on the floor. His defense was passable in this one, but it looks like the Nets needed scoring to keep up with the Suns and that’s probably why Duke Jr. did not play much in the second half.
TJ Warren: B+
Warren did a great job of scoring the basketball in this one. He was hitting plenty of shots from his patented mid-range spots on the floor, getting to the charity stripe, and he even hit the only three he took in this game. Warren’s defense left a lot to be desired as he couldn’t defend effectively without fouling.
Day’Ron Sharpe: C
Sharpe did not play much in this one, but for the time that he was on the floor, he was effective. Sharpe finished strong at the rim all night long and he did his job rebounding the ball. Unfortunately, his defense was not where it needed to be in order for him to play more in this contest.
Dru Smith: C+
Smith was solid during his time on the floor. He did a good job scoring the ball efficiently and he played some impressive defense down the stretch when the Nets needed stops.
Story originally appeared on Nets Wire
