#brooklyn-nets

#brooklyn-nets

Dëmin finished with 17 points and five assists on 6-of-10 shooting, drilling 5-of-9 from 3-point range and posting an outrageous 85% true shooting for the night. Standing at 6-9, Dëmin surveys the court with the vision of a quarterback and is already shooting with the poise of a seasoned NBA veteran, a far cry from his pre-draft evaluation. That rare blend is precisely why Sean Marks was willing to take the gamble on him.

Trae Young initially wanted Brooklyn. The Nets definitely didn't want him. Atlanta ended up trading Young to Washington on Wednesday, but the fact the Nets had been an attractive destination - reportedly one of two landing spots initially suggested by Young's camp - for a four-time All-Star not only dispelled any notions that stars would avoid Brooklyn in the wake of the Big 3's breakup, but it is also an auspicious sign for Brooklyn's ongoing rebuild.

Paolo Banchero banked in a 3-pointer from the top of the key at the overtime buzzer to give the Orlando Magic a 104-103 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night. Two nights after falling at lowly Washington, the Magic beat the Nets for the eighth straight time to improve to 21-17. Banchero scored 30 points to lead Orlando. Wendell Carter Jr. added 20, Tristan da Silva had 14 and Noah Penda 13.

"Just a true vet," head coach Jordi Fernández said. "You see him right now, he's passing the ball to Drake and we're not asking him to do it. So that shows you the type of veteran he is, his leadership. He holds him accountable and he wants him to get better. So that's very important for us. That leadership is priceless and we're very happy with him... He's doing his job every single day."

NEW YORK - Egor Demin scored 17 points, Noah Clowney added 16 and the Brooklyn Nets matched the franchise record for margin of victory, never trailing in a 127-82 romp over the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday night. The 45-point victory tied the team record set Jan. 9, 1993, against Washington while the team was playing in New Jersey. The Nets have won four of six after opening 3-13. At home, they have won three of four after starting 0-9.

Brooklyn dominated Milwaukee, 127-82, Sunday night in a complete effort before 16,439 at Barclays Center. The win tied their biggest victory in franchise history, matching a 45-point rout of Washington on Jan. 9, 1993. Jordi Fernandez wasn't among them, the Nets head coach was out sick with the flu. But an effort like this from his young team likely buoyed his spirits, leading by as much as 45 and having four of their record five first-round picks on the floor late

"I hope to have fun with it," Hetzel said. "Working for Jordi has been some of the most fun I've ever had. The way he allows us as a staff to put our imprint on the team and have a voice. So, I feel comfortable speaking to the team directly with the amount that he gives us... I feel very comfortable with his system and stepping in."

"The Nets have $15 million in cap space and can create more, which has led to increased trade talks about using their room to absorb salary while receiving assets, sources said. The Nets, Pistons ($14.1 million trade exception) and Utah Jazz ($18.4 million trade exception) are the only teams with significant room that can take in larger deals and not be impacted by the apron," Charania wrote.

Rookies Drake Powell and Ben Saraf were nowhere to be found at Tuesday's Nets practice. Instead, they were a few miles East at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, getting G League minutes in Long Island's 112-107 loss to the College Park Skyhawks. For Powell, now a regular in the Nets' rotation, it marked his first G League appearance. Saraf, meanwhile, returned to a setting he knows well, heading back to Long Island for the first time since mid-November to get needed reps during Brooklyn's extended layoff before Friday's matchup with the Dallas Mavericks.

Noah Clowney delivered another breakout performance with 29 points and career highs in free throws made (10) and attempted (12), but it still wasn't enough. The Utah Jazz surged in the fourth quarter to snap Brooklyn's two-game win streak and send the Nets to 5-17 after a 123-110 win. And for most of the night, it looked like Brooklyn had done enough to extend that streak.