Three Takeaways From The Nets' Road Loss To The Suns

Losers of ten of their last eleven games, the Brooklyn Nets (12-33) continued their West Coast road swing on Tuesday night.

They took on a shorthanded Phoenix Suns (28-19) team, who were without a trio of important guards. Devin Booker (ankle), Jalen Green (hamstring), and Collin Gillespie (hand) all missed Tuesday's game against the Nets, giving Brooklyn a chance to get back into the win column. They couldn't take advantage of that opportunity, falling 106-102 for a sixth loss in a row.

Here are the three biggest takeaways from the Nets loss to the Suns.

1. MPJ Bounces Back In A Big Way

make it another 30-piece for Mike 🔥

third time this season dropping 30+ through three quarters. pic.twitter.com/FbgJ2WnPl8
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 28, 2026

Michael Porter Jr. entered Tuesday night's game coming off his worst performance of the season. He scored a season-low nine points on 3-11 shooting against the Clippers on Sunday, the first time all season that he failed to score in double figures. He needed a bounce-back desperately against the Suns, and he delivered.

Porter scored 19 points in the first half en route to a season-high 36 points on the night. The Nets' offense relies on MPJ pouring in points, and he was able to do that with great success in Phoenix. It was good to see him get back on track, especially with the trade deadline fast approaching.

2. Nets Bench Showed Up

DAY DAY DIMES! 🥽🔥 pic.twitter.com/PTbeRRtde1
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 28, 2026

Brooklyn's bench has been one of the most inconsistent units in the league, and the good version of that group showed up Tuesday. The bench combined for 36 points, outscoring the Suns' bench by 12. There were some really solid individual performances mixed into the overall good night from the bench.

Day'Ron Sharpe filled up the stat sheet, posting seven points, seven rebounds, and three steals. Ziaire Williams knocked down some big threes and finished the night with 11 points. Cam Thomas showed some good stuff, too, finding his way into double figures with an 11-point performance. This was a good night for the bench, and hopefully a confidence-building one.

3. Turnovers Were A Problem

When a game is decided by such a small margin on the scoreboard, it's easy to look back and find the reasons why you came up short. Jordi Fernandez won't have to search long for that reason after Tuesday's loss. Turnovers were an absolute killer for Brooklyn in this game.

The Nets turned it over 22 times on Tuesday. They allowed 25 points off of those turnovers, which is big considering it was only a four-point defeat. It's hard to win games in the NBA on the road when you turn it over that many times, and the Nets found that out the hard way. They need to clean up that facet of their game going forward.