The Suns make it 16-straight
What was supposed to be a marquee matchup between the best team in the Eastern Conference and the team with the biggest winning streak of the season ended up being a comical whooping.
The Phoenix Suns raced off to a 34-20 lead after the first half, and never really had to look back until the fourth quarter, when the Nets came back to life.
The Suns scored the first bucket of the game, and then the Nets tied it at 2-2 and 4-4 in the first quarter, and then had a tough time trying to find a way to get back in the game until the final period.
The Nets turned it up in the fourth quarter, though, as Brooklyn cut the lead to 106-96 with 4:45 left in the fourth quarter, and then Patty Mills cut it to a single-digit deficit at 108-99 with a three. James Harden then made a layup to make it an 108-101, but then they couldn’t make enough shots down the stretch before eventually bowing out with a final scoreline of 113-107.
Devin Booker found himself on fire, finishing with 30 points while shooting 9 of 18 from the field, 4 of 6 from three, and 8 of 8 from the charity stripe. Chris Paul had 22 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.
Kevin Durant did his best to keep the Nets in the game, finishing with 37 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals, and his co-star James Harden had a triple-double. However, Harden had a tough night shooting, going 4 of 15 from the field while finishing with 12 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists.
LaMarcus Aldridge and DeAndre’ Bembry both chipped in 18 points apiece, but the Nets’ bench produced a measly 11 points, compared to the Suns’ 33 points from their bench players.
An interesting note for the Suns is that the last time they had a winning streak this long was when current Nets coach Steve Nash was their star player in the ‘7 seconds or less’ era. If they win their next game, they’ll tie the franchise record 17-game streak that happened in the 2006-07 season.
Other notes:
Joel Embiid came back for the 76ers and produced 42 points, 14 rebounds and 3 assists, but it wasn’t enough as they lost 121-120 against the Minnesota Timberwolves in a double OT game. D’Angelo Russell led the Wolves with 35 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists.
