The Brooklyn Nets fell short of a miraculous comeback during Friday's 131-124 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers at Barclays Center. After falling behind by 25 points, Jordi Fernandez's squad clawed within one in the final minutes before failing to get over the hump. While veterans Cam Thomas and Michael Porter Jr. fueled much of the run, Egor Demin's impact during the first clutch minutes of his career will be the top story for Nets fans.

After going scoreless through three quarters, the rookie posted nine points in the fourth while knocking down three of four three-point attempts. He added six rebounds and four assists on the night.

“That’s an amazing experience. To have a chance to play in those clutch minutes against a team like Cleveland,” Demin said postgame. “They played super hard. We were trying to match their physicality, and we did a good job at the end of the game coming back from whatever we were down and giving ourselves a chance to win. I think that’s really important for me… It's about learning how to fight back. I think that’s something that we see in the NBA all the time, and it’s a little bit different from college.

“For me, it was important to really understand how to approach these types of situations, because this is something new for me at this level. I’ve been in a lot of clutch situations before, but again, it's just different [in the NBA].”

The Nets' selection of Demin with their first lottery pick since 2010 was much-maligned. However, the Russian floor general has silenced some of the criticism during his first NBA appearances.

Egor Demin delivers in clutch moments during Nets' loss to Cavs

Brooklyn Nets guard Egor Demin (8) celebrates after scoring in the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Barclays Center.
Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Demin has carried over his shooting improvement from Summer League, converting seven of 11 three-point attempts through two games. Head coach Jordi Fernandez praised the rookie's late-game composure on Friday against one of the NBA's top teams.

“He's ready to do what he's supposed to,” Fernandez said. “As you can see, the four assists, six rebounds, nine points, and five threes made. But I don't care about how many he makes; I care about the aggressiveness. He shoots it, and I think it's going in every time… Probably the negative is the [four] turnovers,  and that's gonna happen at times. With these guys, right now, they see the game really fast, and that's normal for a young player. But I'm really proud of him… Now it's about how can he take that next step? How he grows. He played 24 minutes, which I think is great, but it's not enough. Like, can you do it again? Can you do it better? And that's gonna be our mentality with all our young guys.”

Demin made plays on and off the ball during Brooklyn's comeback. He bailed the Nets out after a stalled possession, driving and kicking for a Ziaire Williams three to cut Cleveland's lead to five with 5:18 remaining.

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The 19-year-old drained a catch-and-shoot three to cut the deficit to one with 3:48 remaining, drawing an explosion from the Barclays Center crowd.

“It was great. I think that kinda threw me back to my BYU times, with the crowd we had there with the student section,” Demin said of the crowd response. “It was really cool, honestly. I felt great looking at the stands and seeing people really stand up and cheer for us. It was an amazing moment for me.”

While his shooting has impressed, Demin has glaring limitations as an offensive player. He's yet to attempt a two through two games, often struggling to maintain his handle or get downhill. Just four of his 27 field goal attempts at Summer League were twos.

“That’s definitely something I’ve got to improve in my game with getting to this new level, new physicality,” Demin said. “I think this is where my playmaking can be on a different level, when I get to the paint more… We have a lot of shooters, and for me, getting to the paint is an opportunity to make their lives easier and create something good for them. So that's something I'm really having in focus. And I'm really planning to work on it even more and trying to adjust myself so I can be able to do that more.”

Demin said part of that adjustment will be fine-tuning his skill set, but much of it will come from adjusting his mindset.

“I think mentality is a big part of it, how aggressive I am mentally,” he said. “For now, I wish I was more aggressive putting pressure on the rim. And I think that is what I'm missing in my game right now these last two games. That is where it's going to open up so many more opportunities for all of us —me personally and my teammates. I think that's something I’ve got to overall get together physicality-wise, technical-wise and mentally.”