Brooklyn found itself down by 20 at one point before taking the 126-117 defeat at home.
The Brooklyn Nets needed to dig out of a 20-point hole once again -- while also dealing with a barrage of three-pointers.
Brooklyn showed grit in turning a 20-point deficit into a four-point margin late. But the Phoenix Suns escaped with the 126-117 win on Monday night inside the Barclays Center.
Brooklyn entered as a 7.5-point underdog -- with the Suns going over the spread.
Again, the Nets chipped away at the large deficit. Terence Mann got the arena erupting the loudest on this long range basket as time wilted away in the third quarter.
Mann hit his first buzzer beating themed shot this season. Except Brooklyn endured their struggles at defending the three-ball.
Phoenix rises as the second consecutive team to hit 20 threes against this defense -- joining the Chicago Bulls from Sunday. Chicago even shot the same three-point percentage (43%) next to the Nets.
The Suns, though, hit 90 points before the end of the third -- earning that mark with 5:37 left in that quarter. Brooklyn has become one of the league's worst at defending during the month of January. They were once first during December as the Nets went on a 7-4 surge.
Phoenix still shot 51% off threes and hit 57% with its field goals. The Suns started the night leading 40-26.
The Nets responded to the first basket of the game with a 6-0 run. Drake Powell nailed back-to-back threes to create the early run...one from 25-feet and the other a 24-footer. Noah Clowney came through for the third early three on a 23-foot running jump shot.
Brooklyn, however, didn't lead from there after the Clowney basket.
Michael Porter Jr. came back following Sunday rest by dropping 23 points. The leading scorer on the Nets was one of seven players to reach double-figures in points. But he pulled off the feat as trade chatter continues to hover above him -- with the Milwaukee Bucks rising as a potential suitor.
Clowney scored 16 for the Nets, while Ziaire Williams led all bench players with 15 points. Nic Claxton added 12 points for Brooklyn. Powell finished dropping 11 for the Nets. Mann became the last starter to reach double figures with 10. Rookie Nolan Traore scored 10 as well off the bench.
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