Nets suffer meltdown against Suns in Phoenix

Brooklyn Blows Second-Half Lead in 112-104 Loss to Suns

November 13, 2014 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Bojan Bogdanovic and the rest of the Nets watched helplessly as Isaiah Thomas and the Suns rallied past them in the fourth quarter Wednesday night in Phoenix. Photos courtesy of the Associated Press

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Up by 19 points in the second quarter, 14 at the half and leading by as many as seven in the final period, the Brooklyn Nets fell apart at the seams Wednesday night in Phoenix, suffering a 112-104 loss to the Suns in the opener of their three-game West Coast swing.

Brooklyn shot the lights out over the first 24 minutes in front of a crowd of 15,184 at the U.S. Airways Center, nailing nearly 70 percent of its field-goal tries en route to a seemingly comfortable 63-49 advantage.

But everything that was going so well before halftime went south in a hurry following intermission as the Nets shot a dismal 27 percent from the floor and watched helplessly as the Suns rolled past them with a 34-20 fourth quarter.

“We got away from ball movement, from sharing the ball, and went to our stars to bail us out or to lead us,’’ said Kevin Garnett, echoing the sentiments of teammate Joe Johnson, who had cited the Nets for getting a bit stagnant in their offensive approach earlier in the week despite wins over the Knicks and Orlando Magic to cap a 3-1 homestand at Downtown’s Barclays Center.

“Obviously, these are growing pains,” added the 20-year veteran. “I think we gave ourselves a chance to win at the end, but there was no way we should’ve let this game be as close as it was. We have to be better for 48 minutes.”

Johnson led Brooklyn with 21 points on 7-of-16 shooting and Deron Williams added 14 points and five assists, but committed a team-high five of the Nets’ 18 turnovers.

“We just got into a rut,” admitted Johnson after the Nets let an 80-73 fourth-quarter advantage disappear following a 15-4 burst by the Suns.

Though the Nets placed six different players in double figures in scoring – Garnett (12), Brook Lopez (16), Bojan Bogdanovic (14) and Mirza Teletovic (16) – the offense abandoned them when they needed it most down the stretch.

“We’ve just got to figure out how to close out games,” admitted Williams. “This should have been a winnable ballgame for us.”

Former Net Gerald Green spearheaded the Phoenix attack with a game-high 28 points off the bench and fellow reserve Isaiah Thomas added 21 for the Suns, who held Lopez scoreless in the second half after the 7-foot center burned them for all 16 of his points prior to the break.

“We obviously couldn’t get stops, and we couldn’t score,” added Johnson, who misfired on eight of his final 10 shots after making five of six to begin the night. “That is probably the toughest part. We couldn’t come up with the big plays. To blow such a big lead, that is hard to swallow.”

It won’t get any easier in Oakland Thursday night as the Nets continue their trip against the Golden State Warriors, who are looking to end a two-game slide after winning their first five contests under first-year coach Steve Kerr.

Brooklyn will be in Portland Saturday night before returning Downtown next Monday for a showdown with the defending four-time Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat.

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As predicted earlier in the week on these pages, former Fort Hamilton gridiron star Jaiquawn Jarrett was named the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Week after his stellar performance for the Jets against the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday.

Jarrett, who racked up two interceptions, a fumble recovery, a sack and 10 tackles as the Jets ended a season-high eight-game slide, helped Bay Ridge’s Tigers to back-to-back city championships in 2005 and 2006 before starring at Temple University.

A second-round pick by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2011, Jarrett made his first career start for the Jets last weekend, and took full advantage of the opportunity after being out of football all together as recently as two years ago.

”I just stayed focused and kept my faith in God,” Jarrett said of his trials during the early portion of his pro career. ”You go through a lot in life, but adversity only made me stronger. … It’s an amazing feeling, just to have that accolade under your belt. But my teammates, they deserve it more than I do.”

Jarrett and the Jets will enjoy a bye this week before returning to the field at Buffalo on Sept. 23.

Nothing But Net: The Warriors lead the NBA with a 56 percent effective shooting average, but the Nets rank second in that category at nearly 54 percent. … F Garnett, who struggled to stay on the floor due to a bad back in his first season as a Net, has been very solid thus far in Season Two, averaging 8.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists while logging just over 24 minutes per contest. … Wednesday marked the first time in seven games this season that G Williams committed more than four turnovers.