Levert Leads Nets to 119-97 Victory over Suns

Brooklyn put on an offensive clinic

After a disappointing loss in Washington on Saturday, the Nets bounce back with an astounding 119-97 win against the Suns on Monday night at the Barclays Center. This tied the season series at 1-1 after Brooklyn took a beating in their 138-112 loss to the Suns in November.

Tonight, despite it being the first game without Kyrie Irving due to the knee sprain, the formula for success for the Nets was efficiency on offense and commitment to sound defense.

Offensively everything was working for them, scoring from both inside and out of the paint, passing and they also hit a impressive amount of their free throws (18-21), which is something they haven’t been that good at this season.

Brooklyn exceeded their averages of both their field goal and three-point percentage when they shot 48.3% FG and 44.1% 3FG tonight. They also dished out 28 assists, which exceeded that average as well.

Moving the ball is an element of Brooklyn’s game that they have improved upon as of late, as they have totaled 25+ assists in the last four games. They’re currently ranked 17th in the league with 23.9 APG.

Another added weapon to the Nets’ offense tonight was their bench. Not once was there a drop off when their reserves stepped on the court. As a result, the Nets’ bench outscored the Suns’ bench 37-20. They also outrebounded them 20-8 and shot way more efficiently from behind the arc, 41.2% 3FG compared to 28.6% 3FG.

Last but not least, what was most impressive about the offense tonight was where the offense was coming from. With Irving out for at least a week, Spencer Dinwiddie was inserted back into the starting lineup. However, he had a tough shooting night, hitting just four of his 12 field goals. Caris Levert on the other hand, who started for just the 10 time this season out of 24 games, was the team’s leading scorer with 29 points and seven assists.

Defensively the Brooklyn did an okay job, holding Phoenix to just 97 points when they average 112.6 PPG (ranked 13th in the league). They also made Devin Booker struggle from the field, hitting only three of his 15 shot attempts. Granted DeAndre Ayton still scored 25 points and grabbed 17 rebounds but he was only one of two players to score more than 20 points for the Suns.