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Many viewers would take positives from the Brooklyn Nets' performance during Sunday's 118-113 loss to a full-strength Milwaukee Bucks squad. Jordi Fernandez wasn't one of them.
“Our defense was atrocious,” Fernandez said candidly following the defeat. “And if our guys who wear a Brooklyn Nets jersey don't play harder defense, they don't have a place in our roster. And they know it, they take pride on defense, and we're gonna watch film. But that's how you lose games in the NBA. We didn't guard anybody in the last three minutes [of the third] and the last six minutes [of the fourth].”
The Nets led by 81-69 when Fernandez subbed his starters out with 3:44 left in the third quarter. With a lineup featuring Ben Simmons, Shake Milton, Jalen Wilson, Trendon Watford and Day'Ron Sharpe, they allowed the Bucks to close on a 17-5 run to tie the game entering the fourth.
Fernandez's squad fought back to take a four-point lead with six minutes remaining. However, Milwaukee would close on a 23-13 run while shooting 6-of-9 from the field and 4-of-5 from three.
Nets run out of gas late during loss to streaking Bucks
The Nets doubled Giannis Antetokounmpo during the game-deciding stretch, a decision Fernandez said he regretted. While the Bucks superstar finished with 34 points on 14-of-22 shooting, the strategy led to three open threes for Bobby Portis and one for Khris Middleton.
“I mean, he took accountability, and that's good. But at the end of the day, it's on the players,” Nic Claxton said. “It's on us out there to play with as much energy as possible. And there definitely was a dip at the end of the third and pretty much for most of the fourth quarter. So we have to be better.”
Fernandez has not been shy about reprimanding his players, both internally and to the media, in the rare moments their effort has not met expectations. The team has responded to the tough love thus far, bouncing back from several double-digit losses with upset wins.
“I think that's what really good coaches do. They hold you accountable,” Claxton said. “They hold you to a high standard. They're straightforward. They tell you what they expect from you, and that's what we need, especially with a younger team. We definitely feed off that.”
Dennis Schroder and Cam Johnson continued to fuel the Nets on Sunday. Schroder turned in his best performance of the season, posting 34 points on 13-of-19 shooting with 11 assists and zero turnovers. The 31-year-old is the fifth player in Nets franchise history to post 30-plus points and 10-plus assists with zero turnovers in a game, joining Jason Kidd, James Harden, Stephon Marbury and Sam Cassell.
Johnson added 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field and 4-of-8 from three. The performance continues a career-best start for the veteran wing. He's averaged 18.8 points on 49/43/91 shooting splits through 23 appearances this season, all career-highs.
Meanwhile, Claxton had his best showing of the season following a slow start. The sixth-year center posted a season-high 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting with 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks. The performance marks his first game of 2024-25 with multiple steals and blocks after he ranked fourth in the NBA in stocks (steals + blocks) over the previous two seasons.
The Nets' performance against the Bucks, who have won 10 of their last 13 games, is the latest example of their ability to compete with playoff-caliber teams, even without leading scorer Cam Thomas. While Brooklyn continues to exceed expectations in year one of a rebuild, its players aren't taking moral victories amid their surprise start.
“There's no positive if you lose a game, I feel like,” Schroder said after Sunday's loss. “I mean, if you win, you can get better, you can watch film and take the positive out of it. But if we lose, then we gotta look at film and say, ‘What did we screw up?' We’re just going to get back [home], enjoy the day off tomorrow, then get back on Tuesday and get to work.”
