Brooklyn Nets emerge victorious in Jordi Fernández reunion, defeating Sacramento Kings 108-103

On November 25, 2024By Littum

Jordi Fernández does not enjoy talking about himself. After his Brooklyn Nets defeated the Milwaukee Bucks on Oct. 27, marking his first victory as an NBA head coach, he acknowledged the joy of the moment but added, “At the end of the day, I didn’t win anything. The boys won the game. That’s what basketball is about is, played by players.”

Fernández gushes about others — assistant coaches, players, opponents — whether prompted or unprompted, but never himself, an entertaining backdrop for Sunday’s game against the Sacramento Kings. The contest marked the Spaniard’s first return to the Golden 1 Center, where he spent two seasons as the Sacramento Kings Associate Head Coach (the team’s two most successful seasons in nearly two decades).

When asked if he had this game circled on the calendar, Fernández replied: “Not necessarily… I’m not out there playing, so of course it means a lot to me, but as a group we just have to be ready to face the next opponent.”

Regardless of how the 41-year-old really felt about returning to the Golden 1, one thing was clear early on: He had truly prepared his team to face the next opponent.

The Brooklyn Nets shot 13-of-20 from three in the first half, all you need to know about their level of shooting and offensive execution, as well as the opposition Sacramento offered. Run, kick, shoot, repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

Cam Thomas scored 22 points in the first half, both offensive ends and bailing Brooklyn out of any wayward offensive possessions they fell into, but those were few and far between. More often than not, Fernández’s ideal vision for the offense was realized, with the Nets getting frequent paint shots and finding can’t-miss shooters.

Brooklyn’s head coach went ten deep in the first half (even with four players injured and three others on assignment), and everyone contributed. A bench unit of Jalen Wilson, Keon Johnson and Shake Milton not only closed out the first quarter, but dominated it…

Still, Brooklyn’s most impressive reserve was arguably Noah Clowney. Two weeks after becoming the youngest player in franchise history to hit 5+ 3-pointers, he shot 5-of-8 from deep in Sacramento, en route to a season-high 18 points.

Remember, if you can, Brooklyn’s 30-point loss to Sacramento on April 7 last season. Noah Clowney, riding high off of two consecutive outstanding outings, got the start at center and Domantas Sabonis absolutely took his lunch, ate it and then stashed the bag, a true welcome-to-the-league moment for Brooklyn’s rookie…

Fast forward seven months and it was Clowney explained Sabonisalthough the two were rarely matched. Still, Clowney didn’t just hit threes, but took charges and got deflections on the other end.

He probably would have closed the game for Brooklyn if he hadn’t landed on Keegan Murray’s ankle midway through the fourth quarter in the midst of making another great play…

Despite all of Brooklyn’s offensive production from all ten guys, they only led by eight at halftime, 65-57. No one could stop De’Aaron Fox — although that happens a lot lately — and even though he was the only king in double figures at the halfway mark, Sacramento shot 8-of-14 from three as a collective.

Predictably, Brooklyn’s didn’t have the best 3-point performance in NBA history, and once again we were locked in a tight contest for all 48 minutes. But that didn’t bother Fernández.

“It’s really hard to win games in the NBA,” he said. “There are ups and downs, it is difficult to keep the lead the whole game. We shot very well and our bench was incredible. They let it fly with confidence, but of course (the Kings) are a good team, right?”

Indeed they are. Sabonis finally went even in the third quarter as Murray made shot after shot, igniting a Golden 1 Center crowd that was mostly sitting on its hands or yelling at the refs early in the game. And yet the Kings found only glimpses, never the groove.

The home fans mirrored their team, which entered Sunday at just 8-8, and their concerns steadily turned into frustrations. Sure, it was easy to cheer for Sacramento’s best game, but the overwhelming feeling in the air was anxiety.

Mike Brown got a technical foul, Sabonis clapped in frustration after a series of offensive possessions where he didn’t touch the ball, and even though the Nets gave up their lead in the second half, they just kept it going. Then, down 94-90 with just under ten minutes remaining, they buckled down, scored the next nine points and never looked back. Sabonis, elbows flying, couldn’t break Brooklyn down. DeMar DeRozan scored 18 points but shot 7-of-18 and couldn’t get any bite on his patented pump fakes. De’Aaron Fox scored just seven points in the second half, and Murray no longer found himself open in the corner. The final score: Just 15 points for Sacramento in the final frame.

Did Fernández take credit? Of course not!

“I mean, it’s Steve Hetzel and Dutch (Gaitley) right there making the right calls on defense and trying to get the ball out of De’Aaron’s hands, and then everybody’s rotating and contesting every shot and fighting the boards because ( Sabonis) ) is a great offensive rebounder. We battled and all those possessions were game-winning.”

At the other end, Cam Thomas brought the Nets home. Not only did he score 34 points, but he erased any memory of his seven turnovers in Philly, dropping six assists to just one turnover…

It wasn’t all on Thomas’ shoulders – Milton and Wilson deservedly closed out the game, while Ben Simmons had a strong start to the period – but simply put, Brooklyn gave him the ball and the rest worked.

Thomas had a very simple explanation for his offensive output: “I felt better. Obviously, I played better. You’re feeling good, you’re playing well,” referring to the “illness” he battled through against Philadelphia on Friday night.

Surprise, surprise, Fernández was more willing to pay tribute to his leading scorer and assist man: “What stood out the most is the six assists to one turnover, and that’s the Cam Thomas we want. We know that he can score a lot of points, and today he did, but he did everything. He pushed the ball defensively, he made a lot of plays for his teammates, and then he scored effectively.”

Not only did Thomas play the ideal JordiBall game, so did the whole team. No one missed a par from three, but everyone took good shots. And sure, they made a ton of them, but even when they started to rhyme, the Nets just took it to another level and played their best defense of the night. In the end, they went into Sacramento and not only outplayed the Kings, but outplayed them with a heartier composure, then went out and headed down I-80 to San Francisco. All in one night’s work.

It certainly reflects one man, a former Sacramento Kings employee.

Thomas said Fernández didn’t hint at any additional motivation in his return to the West Coast, but added, “We all know that. He didn’t really have to say that much. You know, what’s understood doesn’t need to be explained, so it we all knew.

“We definitely wanted this win. We wanted to do that for him.”

Final score: Brooklyn Nets 108, Sacramento Kings 103

Jordi’s reunion

Jordi Fernández could not completely escape the spotlight his return brought. Before tip-off, Kings Head Coach Mike Brown reflected on their relationship, even reflecting on their first meeting.

“He was interning with Impact Basketball in Las Vegas, and he was working with my son, who was in middle school at the time, and I was just sitting back and watching. But his patience that he had in terms of explaining and making my son feel engaged and feel like he had ownership in a workout … all that stood out to me more than anything else.”

Before their partnership in Sacramento, Brown and Fernández grew close with the Cleveland Cavaliers; Brown coached the big league squad, while Fernández staffed their G League (then ‘D League’) team, the Canton Charge. Fernandez even served as a Brown assistant on the Nigerian national team.

Thus, Brown was the right guy to play some music to the ears of Nets fans Sunday night, calling Fernández “the right guy for the (Nets) job.”

“They are obviously thinking about a rebuild, at least that is what you hear from the outside. And so you need somebody with a plan, with energy and then with the right focus in terms of relationships and things like that, to go through that process – if that’s what they’re doing – it can be a lot of ups and downs .

“You need a guy who’s going to be steady, relate to everybody and keep their spirits up. He makes them play really, really, really hard … I can only imagine the success he’s going to have, especially given some time once they figure out what direction they may or may not want to go.”

Fernández was quick to pour the love back on his former boss, calling Brown not just a great mentor but a great person: “The way he treated me and everyone else is not just – it’s always good when you not only see how you are treated. but how he treats other people. I think that is a very important quality, especially when we work in a company like this.”

Of course, the love fest ended before tip-off, with Brown noting that his goal for the evening was to “kick his ass and then give him a hug afterwards.”

“That’s great. I’ll take the hug, I won’t take the first part. We’ll definitely try to do the same.”

In the end, Fernández got both the hug and the win.

The Nets are 7-10 for the season.

Milestone Watch

The Nets are now 4-1 against the Western Conference. Only the Cavaliers (4-0) have a better record.
Jordi Fernandez, with the help of assistant coach Connor Griffin, won another challenge Sunday night, giving the Nets a league high 20 challenges and more importantly 13 overturned decisions on reviews.
Brooklyn had a 44-9 advantage in bench points in the win.
Cam Thomas reached 30 points for a team-high sixth time this season.
Noah Clowney became the first Nets player 20 or younger to hit five 3-pointers twice in one season.
Cam Johnson knocked down his first two 3-pointers tonight, giving him 41 for the month of November. This is the second month he’s made more than 40 threes in his career, the first coming back in December 2021 with Phoenix. He finished the game with three, and with 58 threes in 17 games, he is on pace to break the franchise record (as long as he is still with the franchise) in the 69th game he plays.

Damage report

As previously mentioned, Dennis Schröder and Dorian Finney-Smith were absent from Sunday’s competition. Schröder underwent a steady downgrade, from probable to questionable to out, with right ankle soreness. Whether he plays Monday night against the Golden State Warriors will provide insight into the severity of the injury.

As for Dorian Finney-Smith, he missed two games earlier in November with the same left ankle sprain that kept him out of Sunday’s contest.

“Again, we’re going to do what’s best for his body and for him,” Fernández said. “He’s almost a guy that you have to tell him, ‘Hey, I’m telling you that you’re out,’ because otherwise he’s going to play through everything. That’s who he is. He’s another one of our leaders, tough, competitive, that’s why we are the way we are. And right now he’s going to be out in these two games and then we’re going to reevaluate where he’s at. Again, we’re not going to force anything. For me it’s not a big problem, but we also want to want him to feel good and play without pain.”

With Doe on the bench Monday night, Ben Simmons will be out on back-to-back scheduled rest.

There was no update available for Noah Clowney, nor Cam Thomas, who sat for a possession in the fourth quarter after landing hard on his back, though he said after the game it was “nothing.”

No word on Jaylen Martin the Nets two-way, who is on assignment with Long Island. It appeared he had seriously injured his right knee in Long Island’s loss to the Raptors 905 in suburban Toronto.

Next up

The Brooklyn Nets continue their stay in the Bay Area on Monday night, playing the second night of a back-to-back against the Golden State Warriors. Tip-off is scheduled for 10:00 PM ET.