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

Well, when we came in tonight, it seemed like they sure could have used him. Or anyone for that matter. The body count was high.

KD against his old team was hardly the story leading up to Game #19 for the Nets. Even after that, it wouldn’t feel like a footnote anymore. Instead, it was Brooklyn’s injury list, which swelled to the size of a high school book report, that had everyone talking. This included not only regulars 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 competition with just nine active players.

After Brooklyn came back to beat the Golden State Warriors two nights ago despite only having seven players available in the fourth quarter, it was almost as if Brooklyn wanted to see how long they could manage to teeter on the edge without without sacrificing a full team in terms of winning.

Turns out it took a heck of a long time, as the Nets managed to beat the Suns again tonight and finish their road trip with a double-digit lead.

The game started with the Nets giving Kevin Durant something he probably would have preferred to see two years ago: an aggressive Ben Simmons. Ben10 made five of the team’s first 13 shots and played aggressively on both ends of the court. He even went straight for his old teammate for an inside finish before staring him down for a moment.

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

As enjoyable as it was to watch Simmons flash his former self, and two-way guard Tyrese Martin hit enough threes to warrant an early heat check shot, Phoenix’s offensive firepower was on the scoreboard early everything comes to nothing. More on Martin later.

The Suns, who have been praised for their improved offensive fluidity under Mike Budenholzer this year, looked great to start tonight, shooting 12-16 from the field in the first quarter to quickly jump to a lead. Trendon Watford may have had the last laugh, but Phoenix still held a 37-34 lead after one game.

It didn’t take long for Dennis Schröder to score another attack after the game resumed, taking over a driving KD. Schröder and Durant seemed to be talking quite a bit early in the game, which should surprise absolutely no one.

“That’s him,” Fernández said of Schröder. “He is extremely tough and will let everyone know we are here. That he is here and we will not give in. That’s pretty much it. That’s how you play basketball.”

Simmons returned to the field shortly after in the second period, bringing with him the long-awaited offensive aggression along with the flashy passes we’re more accustomed to. He finished the game with 14 points, eight assists and nine rebounds while shooting 7-8 from the field.

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

But what could be better than a season’s best performance? A career best. Tyrese Martin surpassed Simmons in that regard tonight, finishing with a career-high 30 points while going 10-13 from the field and 8-10 from three. Entering tonight, he only had 33 career points. It wouldn’t shock me to find out he stole Steph Curry’s powers Space Jam Style after Monday. To him, throwing the ball into the basket looked as easy as throwing a pebble into the sea.

The Allentown, Pa., product hit two of those threes in the second period, helping the Nets take a three-point lead with about four minutes left before halftime. A few shots and free throws back and forth allowed each team to go into halftime with a score of 63-63.

However, it was once again up to Simmons to open the third, scoring five of the team’s first seven plays to open the frame and put the Nets back in the lead. His play, coupled with a little more hustle on defense to create transition opportunities, helped the Nets go on a 17-3 run to start the second half.

“I think we kept playing our game,” Fernández said of the third quarter. “We kept getting stops, I think in the third period we defended without any fouls, I would like to believe that, and we kept running, we kept shooting. Again, it’s not easy because as soon as they get the size and go from one to five, it just stops your body movement and the ball movement. I think the guys did a great job and still found a way.”

Brooklyn finished the game with 17 forced turnovers, which led to 24 points. A whopping seven of them for nine points came in the third round. That doesn’t even include the extra point they got after an angry Coach Bud called out a technician after Tyus Jones was whistled for a moving screen.

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

Still, Phoenix’s talent felt like an elephant in the room that hadn’t yet made itself known. In the third part things started to happen. Durant scored eight straight points in the final 3:49 of the third period to help the Suns stay afloat.

But the Slim Reaper was a double-edged sword, or I guess a scythe, in the last hundredth of a second of the third. He bounced off Martin on a three-point attempt, giving the Nets three additional free throws to close the frame. Martin missed one, but the Nets still had a 96-84 lead heading into the fourth period.

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

But the Nets, especially Martin, just kept hitting. The term “speechless” is often overused, but that’s literally how Martin left Sarah Kustok after hitting his seventh triple of the night to give Brooklyn a 111-93 lead with 8:13 left.

“Incredible,” Fernández said of Martin’s performance. “We overwhelmed him with his willingness to shoot and cut to open the paint and he was just great. The 17 points in the first half were very, very impressive. At one point you might think that, now he’s getting going, but then he found a way to run in transition, get stops and find threes in the open court. He played a very mature game. I’m really happy for him… He deserves it because he did the best for the team every day.”

“That’s my dog,” Watford added. “I’m so happy to see him go crazy… The first shot went off and I knew, man, he’s a damn good shot. We see it behind the scenes. It doesn’t surprise any of us, but I’m just glad to see him get his chance and go crazy.”

From that point on, Brooklyn essentially began using 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 field general, slowly marching the Nets up the field each time to score just before their 24 seconds expired.

The Suns did their best, forcing themselves to take quick shots as time went on, but Brooklyn managed enough of them to give Phoenix the power it needed until the end.

Had to throw in some football references on Thanksgiving night.

Final: Brooklyn Nets 127, Phoenix Suns 117

Injury report

When the Nets ruled out Clowney and Thomas today, they also announced schedules for both. Brooklyn called CT’s injury a left hamstring strain and mentioned that he underwent an MRI and will be re-examined in three weeks. Clowney, who walked around in boots and crutches during shootaround this morning, has been diagnosed with a left ankle sprain and will be reevaluated in two weeks.

Brooklyn described Claxton as dealing with “low back injuries on a daily basis.” This was his second consecutive missed game, having played against both Philly and Sacramento. Jalen Wilson was late for the full injury report, but the Nets held him back tonight with what they called right calf tightness.

The Nets also provided an update on two-way winger Jaylen Martin, who was taken off on a stretcher after a game on Long Island on Sunday. Brooklyn called his injury a bruised right knee bone and said he will be reevaluated in a week or two. All in all, this is good news.

To give you even more, the Nets also provided an update on Day’Ron Sharpe, indicating that he has resumed full team activity on the court and is expected to return to the lineup sometime next week. Sharpe has not played yet this year after suffering a hamstring strain in training camp.

Milestone clock

• The Nets had their fifth game with more than 30 assists this season tonight. Cam Johnson had six career records.
• With his eight three-pointers, Tyrese Martin scored the second-highest number of goals off the bench in team history (Patty Mills 11/14/21 at OKC).
• Tyrese Martin’s 24 points tied for the highest scoring game for a Net with a two-way contract (Jeremiah Martin – 8/11/20 at Orlando in the bubble).
• When the Nets outscored the Suns 33-21 in the third quarter, it was Brooklyn’s second-best third quarter in points this season (+14 on 11/9 in Cleveland).

Next

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 lead of -16 points, there is a good chance that the Nets will not advance to the knockout rounds.

The Magic have already defeated the Nets once this year without much resistance, winning by a score of 116-101. Brooklyn has made great strides in terms of competitiveness since this competition, even though it was just over a month ago. Nevertheless, a tough game can be expected again, as the Nets will certainly be undermanned in this game too.