Despite a short rotation, the Santa Cruz Warriors continued their best start in team history on Tuesday night by defeating host Northern Arizona 115-112 at the Prescott Valley Event Center in Prescott Valley, Arizona.

Kendrick Nunn once again came off the bench to lead the Warriors, depositing a game-high 26 points on 10-of-22 shooting, adding four rebounds, three assists and a season-high five steals. Starting guard Darius Morris added 25 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Warriors, who utilized just eight players yet managed to pick up their fifth victory in as many games.

The Warriors will seek their sixth straight victory to start the season Friday against the visiting South Bay Lakers.

Santa Cruz's Antonius Cleveland pulls up for a shot against Northern Arizona in their G League game on November 13, 2018, in Prescott Valley, Ariz. (Matt Hinshaw/NAZ Suns)

Santa Cruz's Michael Gbinije pulls up for a shot against Northern Arizona in their G League game on November 13, 2018, in Prescott Valley, Ariz. (Matt Hinshaw/NAZ Suns)

Santa Cruz's Darius Morris shined in the third quarter Tuesday, depositing 12 of his 25 points to lead the Warriors in their comeback win against the Northern Arizona Suns. (Matt Hinshaw/NAZ Suns)



Santa Cruz's Marcus Derrickson pulls up for a shot over Northern Arizona's Eric Stuteville in their G League game on November 13, 2018, in Prescott Valley, Ariz. (Matt Hinshaw/NAZ Suns)

Santa Cruz (5-0) is one of five teams who remain undefeated in the G League, along with Oklahoma City (4-0), Sioux Falls (6-0), Long Island (4-0) and Greensboro (3-0). More importantly, Santa Cruz’s five wins have come against conference opponents, with four of those wins against division opponents.

Santa Cruz already owns a three-game lead on Stockton (2-3) in the Pacific Division.

Tuesday’s win was Santa Cruz’s second this season against Northern Arizona (1-4). And, like their season-opening victory against the Suns, the Warriors used a huge third quarter to earn the win.

Santa Cruz trailed by as many as 18 points in the second quarter, after the Suns shot 75 percent (15 of 20) from the field in the first quarter and jumped out to a 15-5 lead early on. Daniel Dixon scored eight first-quarter points for the Suns, while George King, Aaron Epps and Eric Stuteville each added six points apiece.

The foursome combined to shoot 10 of 11 from the field in the first quarter.

But Santa Cruz’s Antonius Cleveland helped keep the deficit manageable. Although the Suns pulled ahead by 18 with 6:08 remaining in the half, Cleveland’s 12 first-half points brought Santa Cruz to within eight points by halftime.

The Warriors then outscored the Suns 32-22 in the third quarter and never trailed again.

Morris deposited 12 of his 25 points in the third quarter, while Nunn scored 12 of his game-high output in the fourth quarter. The two combined for 35 second-half points.

Nunn, who scored 32 points in Saturday’s win against Iowa, is the first Warrior to lead the team in scoring in consecutive games off the bench since Jabari Brown in March 2017.

Cleveland finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and four steals, while two-way forward Marcus Derrickson, who re-joined Santa Cruz prior to the game, added 11 points, a team-high nine rebounds and four assists.

Michael Gbinije, Kevin Young and Alen Smailagic each added 10 points for the Warriors, who pulled down a season-high 20 offensive rebounds and outscored the Suns 26-2 on second-chance points.

Epps led the Suns with 24 points and 13 rebounds, while Peter Jok supplied 22 points. Elie Okobo, who was assigned to Northern Arizona prior to the game by Phoenix, had 15 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists, and Stuteville had 15 points and six rebounds.

The Score

Warriors 115, Suns 112

Up next: South Bay at Warriors

When: Friday, 7 p.m.

TV: NBSBA

Online: Facebook Live