Phoenix native Saben Lee shines in Suns' win over Nets, final game of his 10-day contract

Cameron Johnson's stellar performance in his highly anticipated return for the Suns was the biggest spark off the bench (19 points, six rebounds, two assists, two blocks, one steal in 22 minutes) that pushed them to beat the Brooklyn Nets at home on Thursday.

But the Suns' second unit's next-best contributor was Phoenix native and backup point guard Saben Lee, who revved up their offense and defense with his 15 points (6-of-11 shooting, 2-of-4 from deep), six assists, one steal and just one turnover. Plus, he gained Suns coach Monty Williams' trust to play most of the fourth quarter (sat for just 16 seconds) as the Nets cut their huge lead that was as high as 24 in the third quarter to three in the closing minutes.

This was the most outstanding performance for the Tempe Corona del Sol High School product in his four game appearances since the Suns signed him to a 10-day contract on Jan. 11, his second stint with the team. Lee's been averaging 11.3 points, 3.8 assists and 2.5 rebounds in 21.8 minutes for the Suns.

It was befitting for him to have his best game in front of his family in the crowd at the only home game among the four, on the eve of his 10-day contract's expiration.

“I didn’t really think like it was pressure to me," Lee said to The Arizona Republic after the game. "When I step in those lines, it’s the same every time regardless of who’s in the stands, but definitely it’s great that my family’s here and was able to watch me live, so it’s been a great feeling.”

Lee believed he was modest in how many of his relatives got to see him play. “I didn’t have to get too many, but about 10 (tickets)," Lee said.

The Suns have opened Lee's small window of opportunity as they've been short-handed with multiple players out with injuries. That includes their guards Chris Paul (hip), Devin Booker (groin), Cameron Payne (foot), Landry Shamet (hip), and their starting four-man Johnson missing their previous 37 games from his torn meniscus.

“Energy, speed, he can defend, he scored the ball today, he played great," Johnson said in the postgame about Lee.

"Twenty-nine minutes, six assists, one turnover. He’s a 10-day! He just got here. It seems to be getting in and making a big impact in the game and that’s impressive. He’s quickly become one of us.”

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Lee originally signed his first 10-day deal with the team during training camp on Oct. 11, and was waived two days later.

Now in his third season, Lee was traded with Kelly Olynyk from the Detroit Pistons to Utah Jazz for Bogdan Bogdanonic at the start of training camp on Sept. 26. Utah immediately waived him and the Suns picked him up thereafter, and he made an impressive preseason appearance against Sacramento. After the Suns cut him, Lee was signed by the Toronto Raptors on Oct. 16, they waived him that same day, and joined their Raptors 905 G League team two days after that. On Nov. 23, Lee replaced former Gilbert Hillcrest Prep standout Michael Foster on the Philadelphia 76ers' roster on a two-way deal.

“He’s just coming in working hard, listening. It’s tough, especially when he was here then leaving to other teams and then everybody’s different, every team’s different," said Mikal Bridges, whom Lee backed up at point guard against the Nets.

"Then coming back here and we got different type of strategies, defensively, offensively. So it’s great to see him and he’s doing really good.”

Lee entered Thursday's game at the start of the second quarter as the Suns had a 36-31 lead. Lee seemed unsure of himself with his first lay and caused a broken down play that was salvaged by their backup big Bismack Biyombo. Lee drove the ball to the right lane, then circled around the paint and retreated to the free throw line and faked a shot while he was defended, then awkwardly lobbed the ball to Biyombo in traffic, who then caught it and got fouled on the alley-oop.

Williams immediately called Lee over towards the sideline to correct his mistake in running that offense set.

“I was trying to teach him the reads. Sometimes if we’re running a certain play in a certain environment, if you get too deep then you can’t make the read, and that’s just something that he’ll learn from being in our system," Williams said.

"Chris (Paul) has been in those situations so many times, he can get to his middy (midrange jumpshot), or he can find D.A. (Deandre Ayton), or he looks for the guy behind him. If you get too deep, you gotta finish. If you get too deep and go under the basket, most teams go to a steal-out, and then you’re playing one-on-one, and you’re probably going to shoot a non-paying two, which is what most teams want.”

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Lee was a quick study and soon after scored nine points including two made 3s, added three assists and took a charge to help contribute to their 14-point halftime lead.

In the third quarter, he got the home crowd hyped up from his six points, which came from two straight contested penetration layups and a breakaway dunk following Johnson's steal off Seth Curry and outlet pass to Lee to extend their lead to 18.

Lee didn't score in the fourth period, but he helped stop the Nets' massive run as Kyrie Irving caught fire scoring 21 of his 30 points down the stretch. Lee got one of his two defensive rebounds at 2:06 left to play then got his final assist on a jumpshot from Ayton to extend their lead to seven.

“He caught fire. He was hitting some tough shots, but that happens," Lee said. "This is a game of runs and we was able to bounce back and finish the game off.”

The Suns breaking their three-game skid against the East's fourth-place team is a confidence booster to build on. Williams feels he wants to continue building on Lee's presence as well.

At the Suns’ Wednesday practice, Williams praised toughness, ability to get downhill and defense, and that Lee hasn’t been hesitant to shoot the ball from deep. That fits well in their point-five offense and “let-it-fly mentality” in his return to the Suns compared to when Lee was with them in training camp. Plus, Williams said he believes it's his job to help 10-day players he's coached in any way possible to extend their contracts.

“If he’s going to find a consistent home in the NBA, he’s not only gotta just make shots but take them," Williams said.

In Thursday’s pregame media session, Williams added that he spoke with Suns general manager James Jones on Wednesday about Lee, and is “hopeful” to keep him on the roster despite not knowing how extending Lee would affect the salary cap financials this season.

The Suns announced on Saturday that they extended Lee to another 10-day deal.

“He brings something that we need. He’s able to defend and stay in front of the ball," Williams said. "Since we had him last, he’s getting to the paint in the pick-and-roll and gets the ball down the floor, even when you try to pressure him, which is something we’ve struggled without Chris and Book in the lineup, and Cam Payne.”

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix native Saben Lee shines in Suns win over Brooklyn Nets