Jordi Fernandez probably had Sunday’s road game against the Sacramento Kings circled on his calendar since the NBA schedules were revealed back in August. This one meant something to him. This one was special.
Brooklyn’s first-year head coach served as the Kings’ associate head coach under Mike Brown from 2022-24, but that stretch only scratches the surface of their relationship. Fernandez used to train Brown’s son, Elijah, when he was a development intern at IMPACT Basketball in Las Vegas. Brown, then head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, was so impressed that he added Fernandez to his staff as a player development coach.
Brown gave Fernandez his start in the league, and the rest is history. Fernandez faced off against his close friend and mentor for the first time as a head coach on Sunday.
“Yeah, he’s a mentor, but he’s more than that,” Fernandez said. “He’s like family to me. I would not be in this position without him.”
After a disappointing loss on Friday in Philadelphia, Fernandez had to be proud of his team’s fight in Sunday’s 108-103 win. And what his guys did to Sacramento from behind the arc in the first half was ridiculous.
The Nets set a new season high with 13 3-pointers in the first half. Seven different players connected from distance at least once over the first two quarters of play. They did not make their first two-point field goal of the second quarter until there was 3:37 left.
Noah Clowney‘s fourth 3-pointer of the night put the Nets up 19 with 7:19 left in the second quarter. However, the Kings outscored them 22-11 from that point on to cut their deficit to eight points at halftime.
The Nets were outscored 31-23 in the third quarter, but another Clowney 3-pointer tied the game at 88 entering the final frame. Clowney suffered a sprained left ankle late in the fourth quarter and did not return. A De’Aaron Fox free throw cut the Kings’ deficit to four with 1:25 left, but Brooklyn held them scoreless the rest of the way.
The Nets improved to 7-10 with the win and snapped a three-game road losing streak. They shot 48% from the field and went 19-for-39 from 3-point range. Cam Thomas finished with a game-high 34 points with six assists. Cam Johnson added 16 points and Clowney contributed 18 points off the bench and made five 3-pointers.
Fox led Sacramento with 31 points and five assists. Brooklyn is now 4-1 against Western Conference opponents this season and had a 44-9 advantage in bench points on Sunday.
Dennis Schröder (right ankle soreness) and Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle sprain) did not play against Sacramento. Because of their absences, Nic Claxton and Ben Simmons started together for the first time this season and were joined in the starting lineup by Thomas, Johnson and Ziaire Williams.
Finney-Smith and Simmons will not play against the Golden State Warriors on Monday.
