Brooklyn Nets upset the Phoenix Suns behind Tyrese Martin’s career night, 127-117

They’e done it again. This time to an old friend — and on the back of an unexpected hero.

“I’m a Net for life,” Kevin Durant said yesterday. “I’m always gonna say that. Always feel that. It’s gonna be in my heart, my blood, forever.”

Well, coming into tonight, it seemed like they sure could have used him. Or anyone, for that matter. The body count was high.

KD vs his old team was hardly the story ahead of game No. 19 for the Nets. It wouldn’t feel like more than a footnote after it as well. Instead, it was Brooklyn’s injury list ballooning to the size of a high school book report that had everyone talking. Not only did it include usuals like Day’Ron Sharpe and Bojan Bogdanović, but also newcomers like Noah Clowney, Nic Claxton, Cam Thomas, and Jalen Wilson. As a result, Brooklyn entered tonight’s contest with just nine active players.

After coming back to beat the Golden State Warriors two nights ago with just seven guys available by the fourth quarter, it was almost like Brooklyn wanted to see how long they could teeter along the edge without falling off in terms of winning without a full team.

Turns out, pretty damn long, as the Nets Houdini-ed it again tonight, beating the Suns to close out their road trip by a double-digit margin.

The game began with the Nets giving Kevin Durant something he probably would have preferred to see two years ago: an aggressive Ben Simmons. Ben10 put up five of the team’s first 13 shots, playing aggressively at both ends of the floor. He even went right at his old teammate for an inside finish before staring him down momentarily.

“I think he set the tone with his first foul,” said Fernández of Simmons postgame. “It was an iso play for KD and he was physical and he pushed him. I think that set the tone for everybody else. The numbers are very good, but his physicality defensively, I was very impressed, and that helped everybody else.”

As enjoyable as it was to watch Simmons show flashes of his former self and for two-way guard Tyrese Martin to hit enough triples to warrant an early heat check shot, Phoenix’s offensive firepower canceled it all out on the scoreboard early. More on Martin later.

Touted for their improved offensive fluidity under Mike Budenholzer this year, the Suns looked every bit the part to begin tonight, shooting 12-16 from the field in the first quarter to generate a quick lead. Trendon Watford may have gotten the last laugh in the frame, but Phoenix was still in front 37-34 after one.

It didn’t take Dennis Schröder long to get another once play resumed, taking a charge on a driving KD. Schröder and Durant appeared to be talking some smack earlier in the game and well through it, which should come as a surprise absolutely no one.

“That’s who he is,” said Fernández of Schröder. “He’s extremely tough and he’s gonna let everyone know that we’re here. That he’s here and we’re not gonna back down. That’s pretty much it. That’s how you play the game of basketball.”

Simmons returned to the floor soon after in the second, bringing with him that long-desired offensive aggression along with the flashy passing we’re more accustomed to seeing. He went on to finish the game with 14 points, eight assists, and nine rebounds while shooting 7-8 from the field.

“We just wanted to push the ball, push our pace,” said Watford postgame. “I think Ben started that off. Started the game off just attacking and getting the ball off the rim…He was aggressive and it starts with him.”

But what’s the one thing better than a season-best performance? A career-best one. Tyrese Martin one-upped Simmons in that regard this evening, finishing with a career-high 30 points while shooting 10-of-13 from the field and 8-of-10 from three. Coming into tonight, the 25-year-old UConn product had just 33 career points. I wouldn’t be shocked to find out that he stole Steph Curry’s powers Space Jam style after Monday. Putting the ball in the basket looked as easy as putting a pebble in the ocean for him.

The Allentown, PA native splashed two of those triples in the second to help the Nets claw their way into a three-point lead roughly four minutes away from halftime. A few buckets and free throws back and forth allowed each team to trot into halftime knotted 63-63.

It was back to Simmons though to open up the third, who generated five of the team’s first seven makes to open the frame, ushering the Nets back into the lead. His play, paired with some extra hustle on the defensive to spur transition opportunities, helped the Nets go on a 17-3 run to begin the second half.

“I think we kept playing our game,” said Fernández of the third quarter. “We kept getting stops, I think in the third we defended without fouling, I want to believe, and we kept running, we kept shooting. Again, it’s not easy because once they have the size and when they switch one through five that just stops your body movement and ball movement. I think the guys did a great job still finding a way.”

Brooklyn finished the game with 17 forced turnovers leading to 24 points. A whopping seven of those for nine points came in the third. That doesn’t even count the extra one they got after an irate Coach Bud picked up a tech after Tyus Jones was whistled for a moving screen.

“Our energy, I think it was just out the roof,” said Watford. “Knowing that they were on a back to back, we just wanted to come, have our energy up and pressure the ball. Just be who we are.”

Through it all though, Phoenix’s talent felt like an elephant in the room that just hadn’t made its presence known yet. It started to patter around though down the stretch of the third. Durant put in eight straight points in the final 3:49 of the third to help the Suns stay afloat.

But the Slim Reaper was a double-edged sword, or I guess scythe, in the final hundredth of a second in the third. Crashing into Martin on a three-point attempt, he gave the Nets three extra free throws to close out the frame. Martin missed one, but still had the Nets up 96-84 going into the fourth.

There, it was Bradley Beal’s turn to remind everyone he was there. Brad put in a handful of buckets to keep the Suns within striking distance as Durant took a breather. It was a 10-point game with 9:40 to after his eighth make of the night.

But the Nets, specifically Martin, just kept hitting shots. The term “speechless” is often overused, but that’s quite literally how Martin left Sarah Kustok after nailing his seventh triple of the night, putting Brooklyn up 111-93 with 8:13 to go.

“Unbelievable,” said Fernández of Martin’s performance. “We’ve been on him with being ready to shoot, cutting to open up the paint, and he was just amazing. The 17 points in the first half was very, very impressive. At some point you may think that, now he gets it going, but then he found a way to run in transition to get stops and find threes in the open court. He played a very mature game. Very happy for him…He deserves it because he’s been doing what’s best for the team every single day”

Martin was stoic in his post-game interview, praising his teammates … and reminding everyone of where he came from.

“The work I put in every day,” he told Meghan Triplett who asked what was it that gave him the confidence he showed vs. the Suns and before that the Warriors. “I wasn’t in the league last year. You know, I was in the G League all last year and I’m around great people every day.”

Martin last played in the NBA for the Atlanta Hawks in 2022-23, getting into 16 games and scoring 20 points on the season.

“That’s my dog,” Watford said of Martin. “I’m so glad to see him go crazy…The first shot went in and I knew like, man, he’s a hell of a shooter. We see it behind the scenes. It don’t surprise none of us but I’m just glad to see him get his opportunity and go crazy.”

From that point forward, Brooklyn essentially started to deploy a “run the ball to run the clock” strategy. They didn’t have Brandon Jacobs or Breece Hall, but they did have Dennis Schröder, who was a calm and collected floor general, slowly marching the Nets up the floor each time to put one up just before their 24 seconds expired.

The Suns did all they could, hustling down for quick shots as time ticked away, but Brooklyn made enough of their own to stiff arm Phoenix all the way until the end.

Had to squeeze in some football references on Thanksgiving Eve.

Final: Brooklyn Nets 127, Phoenix Suns 117

Injury Report

When the Nets ruled out Noah Clowney and Cam Thomas for extensive time today, they also provided timelines for each. Brooklyn called CT’s injury a left hamstring strain, mentioned that he underwent an MRI, and will be reevaluated in three weeks. Clowney, who was walking around in a boot and crutches at shootaround this morning, got tagged with a left ankle sprain and will be reevaluated in two weeks. Of course, that doesn’t mean either will be back in that prescribed time, just that team doctors will look at him again. It’s likely to be longer.

Brooklyn referred to Claxton as “day-to-day” with “lower back injury management.” This was his second game missed in a row after playing against both Philly and Sacramento. Jalen Wilson was too late for the in-depth injury report, but the Nets held him out tonight with what they called right calf tightness. Wilson had played 74 minutes in the Nets’ back-to-back vs. Sacramento and Golden State.

The Nets also provided an update on two-way wing Jaylen Martin, who was taken off the court on a stretcher after a G League game in suburban Toronto Sunday. Brooklyn called his injury a right knee bone contusion and said he’d be reevaluated in 1-2 weeks. That’s some good news there, all things considered.

To give you some more positives, the Nets also provided an update on Day’Ron Sharpe, noting that he’s resumed full on-court team activity and is expected to return to the lineup sometime next week. Sharpe hasn’t played yet this year after suffering a hamstring strain in training camp. Sharpe’s debut would mean only Bojan Bogdanovic would remain stuck in street clothes. Bogdanovic, the team reported earlier, will be re-evaluated in December. He hasn’t played since surgery on his foot and wrist at the end of April when he was with the Knicks.

Both Dariq Whitehead and Jacky Cui were brought up from Long Island on Monday to help fill out active roster, but neither was needed either in San Francisco or Phoenix.

Milestone Watch

• Nets had their fifth game with 30+ assists this season. Cam Johnson had a career-high-tying six.
• With his eight threes, Tyrese Martin had the second most by a Net off the bench in team history (Patty Mills 11/14/21 at OKC)
• Tyrese Martin’s 30 points were the highest-scoring game for a Net on a two-way contract ever, besting the 24 by Jeremiah Martin on August 11, 2020 in the bubble.
• When the Nets outscored the Suns 33-21 in the third quarter it was Brooklyn’s second-best third quarter by point differential this season (+14 on 11/9 at Cleveland).
• The Nets hit 21 of 22 free throws … 95.5%. They are second in the NBA at 81.2%. Only the Knicks have been better at 83.3%.

Next Up

Mike Watters-Imagn Images

Brooklyn will return home to host the Orlando Magic in their final group round game of the NBA Cup. Currently in third place in their group and with a -16 point differential, the odds are against the Nets moving onto the knockout round.

The Magic also defeated the Nets once already this year without much resistance, winning by a 116-101 score. Brooklyn has come a long way in terms of its competitiveness since that contest, even with it being just over a month ago. Nonetheless, expect tough sledding again with the Nets certain to be shorthanded for that game as well.

• Boxscore: Brooklyn Nets 127, Phoenix Suns 117 – NBA
• Game Highlights: Brooklyn Nets 127, Phoenix Suns 117 (Video) – NBA
• Tyrese Martin and Dennis Schröder break down 127-117 win (Video) – Meghan Triplett – YES Network
• Tyrese Martin discusses his 17-point first half vs. Suns (Video) – Meghan Triplett – YES Network
• Jordi Fernández reacts to Nets’ big win over Suns (Video) – YES Network
• Trendon Watford on the Nets’ 127-117 win in Phoenix (Video) – YES Network
• Ask the Announcers: 2025 NBA Draft class (Video) – YES Network
• Tyrese Martin scores a career-high 30 points, leading the Nets past the Suns 127-117 – David Brandt – AP
• Tyrese Martin’s career night propels Nets past Suns – Larry Fleisher – Reuters
• Nets roll past Suns, Kevin Durant behind two-way player’s 30 points in Cam Thomas’ absence – Brian Lewis – New York Post
• Nets’ Tyrese Martin steps up to score 30 points in victory over Suns ($) – Evan Barnes – Newsday
• Nets’ Cam Johnson excited for ‘familiarity’ ahead of Phoenix return – Hayden Cilley – Clutch Points