PHOENIX _ Maybe the Suns are last season's Nets in the sense that they are the surprise team of the NBA under first-year coach Monty Williams, who said before they faced the Nets on Sunday night at Talking Stick Resort Arena that he just wanted his team to "play free." The Nets complied from the outset, allowing the exciting young Suns a free pass to the basket all night on their way to a 138-112 victory.
In the absence of their defense, the Nets needed to pack calculators to keep track of the Suns (6-3), who had seven players score in double figures, including 27 points from Devin Booker, 22 by Ricky Rubio along with 11 assists and 18 by Kelly Oubre Jr. They converted 19 of 42 three-point shots (45.2 percent) and scored at least 31 points in each quarter.
The Nets trailed by 20 points midway through the first quarter but somehow climbed back within two midway through the second period. That was as good as it got. Their halftime deficit soared to 18 points, and the Suns led by as much as 29 in the second half.
