Ben Simmons has enjoyed his most productive scoring night for Brooklyn this season, helping them to a 127-117 win at Phoenix.
The Australian had 14 points - the most in an NBA game since November 2022 - and added nine rebounds, eight assists and one steal to his stats sheet as the Nets (9-10) won their fourth game in five matches.
The 28-year-old, who has been hampered by back and leg injuries in recent seasons, featured for over 27 minutes - the most in a game this campaign - and went 7-of-8 from the field in Arizona.
Simmons put up five of his team’s first 13 shots, playing aggressively at both ends of the floor and even went right at his old teammate Kevin Durant for an inside finish before staring him down momentarily.
"I think he set the tone with his first foul," Nets coach Jordi Fernandez said of Simmons post-game.
"It was an iso play for KD and he was physical and he pushed him. I think that set the tone for everybody else. The numbers are very good, but his physicality defensively, I was very impressed, and that helped everybody else."
Tyrese Martin scored a career-high 30 points and Dennis Schroder added 29 for injury-depleted Brooklyn, who were missing leading scorer Cam Thomas (hamstring).
Devin Booker led the Suns (10-8), who have lost seven of nine, with 31 points and Durant had 30.
Simmons' compatriots Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels also put up decent numbers on Wednesday night.
Giddey compiled 13 points, two rebounds and five assists in Chicago's 133-119 loss to the Magic in Orlando.
Daniels, who saw nearly 36 minutes of game time for Atlanta, finished with 12 points, 10 boards, two steals, one assist and one block to help the Hawks stun the Cavaliers in Cleveland, 135-124.
Trae Young got a career-high 22 assists - the most in the league this season - as the Cavs dropped to 17-2 and lost for the first time in 11 home games this season.
Elsewhere, James Harden scored a season-high 43 points to help the Los Angeles Clippers romp to a 121-96 victory over Washington, handing the struggling Wizards their 13th consecutive defeat.
The 10-time All-Star hit seven triples, had 23 points in the first quarter and eclipsed his previous season high of 29 by half-time.
And in Philadelphia, Jalen Green scored a season-high 41 points as the Houston Rockets beat the 76ers, who were without Paul George and Joel Embiid and fell to 3-14, 122-115 in overtime.
With AP.
