Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernadnez was desperately searching for a spark during his team's 0-7 start. He found one in the form of third-year forward Noah Clowney during Wednesday's 112-103 win over the Indiana Pacers. Clowney turned in a career-best performance during his second consecutive start, posting 17 points, four rebounds and one assist on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and 2-of-5 from three.

The 21-year-old flashed improved ball-handling, a central weakness of his game during his first two NBA seasons, and hit back-to-back timely threes to halt a second-half Pacers run. He helped Brooklyn's league-worst defense hold Indiana to 17-of-47 shooting (36.2 percent) in the second half while forcing 11 turnovers.

“When he plays like this, he just looks like a grown man at 21,” said Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez. “He's focused, he can help us on the boards, he can shoot the three. He's an overall player. And now in back-to-back games, again, it was not perfect and there's a lot of things he can do better, but he really improved his game and helped the team. And with his growth, his ceiling is like, we don't even know [how high it is] here… And his leadership, the type of person he is, that's who we want to be. He definitely has the grit that we're looking for.”

Clowney impressed during Monday's loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves while starting in place of Michael Porter Jr., who missed the game for personal reasons. However, with Porter Jr. returning on Wednesday, Fernandez opted to keep Clowney in the starting unit, removing Tyrese Martin and sliding Terance Mann to point guard.

Noah Clowney showcases improved skill set while leading Nets to first win of season

Brooklyn Nets forward/center Noah Clowney (21) dribbles the ball while Indiana Pacers forward Isaiah Jackson (22) defends in the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

While the Nets faced a depleted Pacers squad, they turned in their best defensive performance of the season by a wide margin. Brooklyn's revamped frontline of Porter Jr., Clowney and Nic Claxton all stand 6-foot-10 or taller, with wingspans over seven feet.

Brooklyn lost Cam Thomas in the first quarter of the game due to a hamstring injury.

“It came down to defense. There was a lot of different groups out there that were not on the floor together. So we had to, on the fly, organize ourselves,” Porter Jr. told YES Network. “It was a relief to have Noah out there. He did a great job spacing the floor, rebounding, defending, just having size out there and not feeling overwhelmed on the glass or anything. It was a good look for us. And Noah came in and did what he had to do and was a big part of the win.”

Offensively, Clowney has bounced back from a poor start to the season during his last two performances. He's averaging 16.0 points on 48/35/67 shooting splits across the pair of starts.

The 2023 first-round pick was extremely limited as a shot-creator last season, attempting just 29.8 percent of his field goals from inside the arc and converting only 41.4 percent. However, Clowney added significant muscle this offseason, and it showed on Wednesday. He was forceful on drives, routinely bumping defenders off their spots, getting to two feet and finishing in the lane.

Those were the primary focuses of his on-court work this summer.

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“The main thing was being able to get to the rim efficiently and being efficient when I get there. I think I've improved in that aspect a lot,” Clowney said during training camp. “[The added weight] will help, being able to get to my spots where I want to go and get to two feet. Being more of an enforcer when I'm driving the ball rather than trying to get around people. It'll be helpful.”

Clowney bullied his way into the lane and threw down a thunderous dunk over Isaiah Jackson early in the second half.

The Nets also leaned on him as a self-creator on numerous late-game possessions. He delivered, scoring late in the shot clock to stop a Pacers run with under five minutes remaining and driving and kicking to Tyrese Martin for a three that iced the game in the final minutes.

After missing half of last season due to three separate ankle sprains, Clowney is attempting to solidify a long-term rotation spot with Brooklyn. The Nets already picked up the forward's team option for next season. However, they have five rookie first-round picks entering the mix, including Michigan big man Danny Wolf.

Clowney will be under a microscope as General Manager Sean Marks determines which players will be a part of the team's next iteration. Performances like Wednesday's will go a long way toward securing his spot in Brooklyn's rebuild plans.

“I think I've been focused more [these last two games] on just playing hard and giving that effort,” Clowney said after Wednesday's win. “I think of like two details in the beginning of the game and then effort is always my third thing, these last two games. Before that, I think I was too worried about the end result and what the expectations were and what I should be doing, and it was causing me to get frustrated early, quickly. So now I'm just playing free, playing the right way, and playing hard.”