Deandre Ayton Wows Fans with Dominance in Devin Booker’s Return as Suns Beat Nets

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Deandre Ayton posted another big game on Tuesday as the Phoenix Suns center dropped 35 points on 14-of-18 shooting and 15 rebounds in a 116-112 road win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Following his performance, Ayton is averaging 33.0 points on 81.8 percent shooting and 15.5 rebounds in his last two games.

The five-year veteran was dominant against Brooklyn, whose big men were no match for Ayton, as he helped the Suns overcome a 43-point outing from Nets guard Cam Thomas.

Ayton hit some huge shots down the stretch to help ward off a late Nets comeback.

His three-point play off an offensive rebound gave the Suns a 105-95 edge with 3:36 left.

Ayton later added a putback dunk for a 111-103 lead with under a minute remaining.

Thomas and the Nets kept chipping away at the lead, though, and Ayton ended up at the free throw line for two shots and his team up 114-112 with four seconds remaining. He calmly sank both free throws to put the game away.

This wasn’t an easy win for the Suns, thanks largely to Thomas, who is quickly putting his stamp on the league.

Ultimately, Ayton led the Suns to their third straight win and ninth victory in 11 tries.

Phoenix also got to welcome back Devin Booker, who had been out since Dec. 25 with a left groin strain. Booker had 19 points, six assists and four rebounds in 26 minutes in his return.

If the Suns’ top quartet (Ayton, Booker, Chris Paul and Mikal Bridges) stays healthy and Ayton continues to look like one of the game’s top big men, then the Suns could very well find themselves making another deep playoff run a la their sprint to the 2021 NBA Finals.

For now, though, the Suns can revel in Ayton’s fantastic form as the All-Star break nears. Twitter recognized Ayton’s excellence.

The Suns will now travel to Atlanta to face the Hawks on Thursday evening.