Nets' Tyrese Martin steps up to score 30 points in victory over Suns

PHOENIX — Who needs Cam Thomas when the Nets have . . . Tyrese Martin?

Thomas, the team’s leading scorer, was ruled out Wednesday after shootaround and will miss at least three weeks with a strained left hamstring. Yet the Nets somehow filled his shoes with a player on a two-way contract.

Martin’s 30 points, including eight three-pointers, both career bests, catapulted the Nets past the Suns for a 127-117 win at Footprint Center. It was the second-year guard’s best night as a pro and helped the Nets get their first three-game win streak of the season.

Martin walked into his postgame news conference still wet from being doused with water bottles in the locker room. It was the only thing that cooled him off after his best night as a pro.

“It felt like I drowned in the ocean,” Martin said.

His previous career-high was six points. He scored 33 combined points on 5-for-18 shooting in his previous 21 games over two seasons. In his 22nd game, Martin had a game players dream of.

He made five three-pointers on his way to a 17-point first half. Martin’s final three-pointer put the Nets up 17 in the fourth quarter, stunning a crowd that had watched the Suns defeat the Lakers by 27 points Tuesday.

Martin finished the game 10-for-13 shooting, including 8-for-10 on threes.

“Unbelievable,” coach Jordi Fernandez said. “We’ve been on him with being ready to shoot, cutting to open up the paint. And he was just amazing.

“He played a very mature game so very happy for him because he hasn’t had a lot of opportunities.

It was just as improbable as Monday’s come-from-behind at Golden State. But Martin was just one unlikely source that helped the Nets (9-10) finish their road trip 3-1 while playing without several key players.

Trendon Watford had a season-high 18 points off the bench. Ben Simmons had 14 points, his most since scoring 20 on Nov. 25, 2022, and added nine rebounds and eight assist.

Dennis Schroder added 29 points, his second consecutive game with at least 20. But it was the non-stars that kept the Nets in the lead for almost the entire second half.

The Nets raced out to a 17-3 run to open the third and grab their first lead. A Simmons steal led to a Ziaire Williams dunk. On the next play, Williams missed going for a steal but stayed with the play and got the steal eventually by forcing a turnover on Devin Booker.

Even when the Suns (10-8) responded with 13-4 run to get within five, Schroder made a three-pointer followed by a Williams steal and dunk. Martin closed a Nets 12-5 run with a pair of free throws to end the period with the Nets up 96-84.

It was another example of the collective effort the Nets used all season to exceed early expectations. The formula is simple — aggressive ball pressure on defense, shooting a high number of threes and competing until the final whistle.

The Nets forced 17 turnovers and shot 42.9% on threes, the eighth time in the last nine games they shot at least 40% from deep.

It provided consolation to a team that’ll be shorthanded. In addition to Thomas, Nic Claxton also sat out the game and is day-to-day with lower back injury management.

Noah Clowney will miss at least two weeks with a sprained left ankle suffered Sunday. Jalen Wilson was ruled out with right calf tightness.

Instead of running out of depth, the Nets found more in the tank. By game’s end, the Nets improved to 6-1 against the Western Conference and gave the Suns their second loss in 11 games this season with a healthy Kevin Durant.

Durant scored 30 points against his former team and Devin Booker had a team-high 31. Both took a backseat to Martin walking in their arena and leaving with a name for himself and another moment for a gritty Nets team.

“A lot of teams probably take us lightly when we come in town or whatever the case may be. But we’re here to compete and play hard,” Martin said. “So to do it on this stage against Hall of Fame players like Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, things like that, definitely a surreal feeling.”

By Evan Barnes

evan.barnes@newsday.comevan_b

Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.