• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Deron Williams leads Nets past Suns

Jan 14, 2012 - 5:56 AM Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) - Deron Williams scored 35 points to go along with 14 assists to lead the New Jersey Nets past the Phoenix Suns, 110-103, on Friday.

MarShon Brooks dropped in 20 points, Anthony Morrow scored 16 and Mehmet Okur had 11 for New Jersey, which won for the second time in five games.

"This was a good confidence booster for us. We finished the game very, very well," said Brooks. "It was a good win."

Marcin Gortat recorded 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Suns, who were playing without Steve Nash and Grant Hill because of injuries.

Jared Dudley and Ronnie Price each scored 18 points in Phoenix's third straight loss.

The Nets used a late third quarter push to take control of the game as Williams scored 18 of his points in the stanza, including New Jersey's final 11 points.

After Gortat knotted the game at 77 with a short hook shot, Williams started his stretch with three straight treys to put the Nets ahead and closed out the third with a pair of free throws to put New Jersey ahead, 88-82.

"I thought Deron Williams just kind of took over the game," Suns head coach Alvin Gentry said. "He's one of the great players in this league so sometimes that is going to happen."

The Nets' lead stretched to a game-high 12 points near the midpoint of the fourth quarter before a 12-2 run by Phoenix brought them within three at 102-99 with 2:48 to play.

But New Jersey answered with a Kris Humphries dunk and a Morrow three-pointer around a pair of missed treys by Price and Channing Frye to pull away for the win.

Phoenix held a 25-22 lead after a back-and-forth first quarter that saw five lead changes and four ties as the Suns closed out the opening 12 minutes with a 6-2 run.

The Suns' Robin Lopez scored all four of his points in that span on four free throws.

The second quarter was equally as competitive as the two teams kept it a one- possession game through the first five minutes until a 6-2 swing by New Jersey gave them a 39-35 edge for the largest lead of the frame.

Phoenix answered with consecutive three-pointers by Sebastian Telfair and Frye to retake the lead, but the Nets closed out the half with a 10-4 run to hold a 54-51 lead at the break.

Game Notes

The Nets win was just the second in their last 18 visits to Phoenix. New Jersey last won in Phoenix on November 30, 2008...Humphries finished with 15 points for the Nets, while Frye had 15 for the Suns...Each team recorded 18 points off of the opposition's 13 turnovers.