Steve Nash has countless great memories of Phoenix from his playing days. On Tuesday night he made the first major of his career as a coach.
When Nash first faced the Suns as head coach, his abbreviated Nets turned a huge deficit into an even bigger rally, securing a 128-124 victory over a stunning 3,181 crowd at the Phoenix Suns Arena. .
“That one was fun,” Tyler Johnson said. “That one was fun.”
The Nets played without Kevin Durant (hamstring strain) and late scratch Kyrie Irving (back strain) as his Big 3 fell to a Big 1. Despite James Harden’s big night, he went finishing with 38 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds, the Nets were left behind by 24. But they struggled to get their second biggest win since 2012, with a 12-0 run.
The Nets outscored the Suns 40-24 in the fourth quarter, keeping Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton with just two points in the fateful final period.
“It simply came to our notice then. All the vibes, “Nash said.” The guys are all excited. It’s a great boost to morale, especially missing Kevin and Ky finding a way to make up for a 24-point deficit, they showed a lot. of character and a lot of heart, as a technical body it makes you feel proud “.
The Nets swept to 73-49 in the second quarter. They rallied to shoot 108-106 on a 3-point Johnson with 6:40 to play. Still down 124-116 with three minutes to go, the Nets scored the final 12 points of the game.
Harden’s driving finger with 1:39 remaining hit them within 124-121. Jeff Green led the lane to cut the score to one, and the Nets forced Mikal Bridges to fail. Harden punched a 3-point clutch to give the Nets their first lead of the night at 126-124 with 29.8 seconds left.
The Nets ’mischievous defense forced Devin Booker to fail and Harden sank two free throws at the other end.
“The way we’re playing and the potential we have as a team is what excites me,” Harden said.
“This is the true definition of a team; one man, two men come down, the next man up. “
Nash and assistant Amar’e Stoudemire were together in Phoenix during the Suns’ glory years, playing under current Nets assistant Mike D’Antoni. Nash won a couple of MVP awards in his ten seasons with the Suns. But that will be his first big memory as a coach.
“Well, this place means a lot to me, obviously. Amazing years have passed here, teams, teammates, incredible coaches, ”said Nash. “The organization was first class, and the fans here are fantastic. So living here, I lived here for ten years and I loved it, I loved it every minute.
“So coming back here and being really in the game, playing against them is very special. I feel very lucky. And that’s it, I’m not the most sentimental person, it’s true, but it’s really exciting. Just driving in the arena and seeing some familiar faces, people who mean a lot to me are very special ”.
The Nets went on to win four. They now face LeBron James and the Lakers at the Staples Center on Thursday, with Durant and Irving very questionable. But after using a dozen different lineups in the NBA (Tuesday marked a ninth straight game with different starters), it’s the point for the course.
“I think the boys are getting used to it. We’ve been saying this since the beginning of the year: this is how it will be this year, “Nash said of the absences. the boys knew to go in that this was the kind of season we would face and now they are a little asleep.
“The challenge is that we continue to improve regardless of who comes out every night. How can we improve on what we try to do because we don’t give away games or weeks. It’s a season where we constantly deal with problems, solve problems and work to achieve a bigger goal. “