Sometimes, basketball has a way of providing déjà vu. After erasing a 17-point first half deficit to beat the Brooklyn Nets 132-127 in overtime on Friday, the Phoenix Suns returned the favor with a 14-point lead in Sunday morning’s second quarter. But the Nets went on a 29-17 run to close out the first half.
While Brooklyn squandered a brief advantage in the third quarter, Tyrese Martin hit two game-winning free throws with 2.5 seconds remaining, which helped clinch a 111-109 victory at Venetian Arena in Macao. Thus, both teams split the NBA China Games 2025 to wrap up the league’s first games in the country since 2019.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
Suns Split China Games Against Nets: 3 Takeaways
Takeaway #1: Booker Builds as Suns Centerpiece
It is a no brainer that Devin Booker will be under the watchful eye of Suns fans this season. The remaining player from last season’s underwhelming star trio, he takes on an expanded role. Specifically, at point guard.
Going 3-for-5 on his three-point attempts, Booker once again tallied 18 points, while picking up five rebounds and five assists. His passing from the back court sparked the Purple and Orange’s transition offense, finding Oso Ighodaro, Royce O’Neale and Nick Richards for easy baskets.
However, the Suns’ star still had some room for improvement. Along with his four turnovers, he also went 4-for-12 from the field, including his three triples. Many of those misses happened inside the paint.
Booker’s surprising outlet this preseason has been his production from the line. Picking up multiple fouls, he has shot at least eight free throws in each preseason game this season, which included going 7-for-8 against the Nets.
Takeaway #2: Ighodaro Provides Presence at Power Forward
It only took Ighodaro 21 seconds to make an impact in Sunday’s game, making a layup after receiving a pass from Grayson Allen. That set up a simple, yet crafty day from the Suns’ power forwards.
Making all of his first half shots, Ighodaro ended the game with 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal. He also went 5-for-7 from the field on another day where the Suns shot below 45% in that category.
Similar to Friday, Jordan Ott deployed Khaman Maluach with less than five minutes remaining in the second quarter. So, Ighodaro had to step up in the trenches, albeit doing so in the mid to high post after his initial scoring flurry.
With Mark Williams still out until at least the season opener on October 22nd, Ighodaro and others have combined their talents to help the team transition well against the opposition.
Takeaway #3: Wolf, Martin Push Nets Comeback, Pleas for Minutes
In preseason games, with most starters having their minutes capped, the fourth quarter becomes a place for the reserves to shine. That happened in the Nets’ victory over the Suns.
Danny Wolf entered with 12 minutes to go. He finished the game with a +9 rating with nine points, including a free throw that gave Brooklyn its first lead of the quarter, four assists and one steal.
After replacing Ben Saraf with 8:26 remaining, Martin posted a +10 rating. Along with shooting the game winner, he finished the night with 11 points, one rebound and one block.
Both players received key minutes last season. Wolf was a regular starter at Michigan and at Yale the year before. Martin appeared in 60 games, starting 11, in his first campaign with the Nets. Building on Sunday’s performance could leave Jordi Fernández with no choice but to give them more playing time.
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