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

Jordi Fernández’s return to Sacramento looked like it was going to be barn-burner before evolving into a defensive slugfest down the stretch. But the Nets hung tough anyway.

Jordi Fernández does not enjoy talking about himself. After his Brooklyn Nets defeated the Milwaukee Bucks on October 27, marking his first win 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 guys won the game. That’s what basketball is, played by players.”

Fernández gushes about others — assistant coaches, players, opponents — whether prompted or unprompted, but never about himself, an amusing 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’d had this game circled on the calendar, Fernández responded: “Not necessarily…I’m not out there playing, so obviously for me it means a lot, but as a group, we just gotta be ready to face the next opponent.”

No matter how the 41-year-old truly felt about returning to Golden 1, one thing was apparent early: He had indeed gotten his team ready 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 shot-making and offensive execution, as well as the resistance Sacramento offered. Drive, kick, shoot, repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

Cam Thomas scored 22 points in the first half, both attacking closeouts and bailing Brooklyn out of any wayward offensive possessions they stumbled into, but those were few and far between. More often, Fernández’s ideal vision for the offense was realized, with the Nets getting frequent paint touches and finding shooters that couldn’t miss.

Brooklyn’s head coach went ten-deep in the first half (even with four players hurt and three others on assignment ) and everybody contributed. A bench unit featuring Jalen Wilson, Keon Johnson, and Shake Milton didn’t just close out the first quarter, but dominated it…

Yet, Brooklyn’s most impressive reserve was undoubtedly 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.

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

Fast-forward seven months, and Clowney was thoroughly outplaying Sabonis, though the two were infrequently matched up. Still, Clowney wasn’t just hitting threes, but taking charges and racking up deflections on the other end.

He likely would have closed the game for Brooklyn had he not landed on Keegan Murray’s ankle during the mid-fourth quarter, in the middle of making another nice play…

Despite all of Brooklyn’s offensive production from all ten dudes, they led by just eight at halftime, 65-57. Nobody could stop De’Aaron Fox — though that happens a lot lately — and 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 did not have the greatest 3-point performance in NBA history, and once again, we were locked into 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’s ups and downs, it’s hard to keep the lead the whole game. We shot very well, and our bench was unbelievable. They were letting it fly with confidence, but obviously, [the Kings] are a good team, right?”

Indeed, the are. Sabonis finally himself going in the third quarter, while Murray made shot after shot, igniting a Golden 1 Center crowd that was mostly sitting on their hands or yelling at the referees early in the game. And yet, the Kings merely found flashes, never the groove.

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

Mike Brown got a technical foul, Sabonis clapped in frustration after a string of offensive possessions where he didn’t touch the ball, and though the Nets did relinquish their lead in the second half, they just kept it moving. Then, down 94-90 with just under ten minutes remaining, they locked in, scoring the next nine points and never looked back. Sabonis, elbows flying, could not break Brooklyn down. DeMar DeRozan scored 18 points, but shot 7-of-18 and could not get any bites 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 end result: Just 15 points for Sacramento in the final frame.

Did Fernández take credit? Of course not!

“I mean, that’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 rotating and contesting every shot and fighting on the boards, because [Sabonis] is a great offensive rebounder. We fought, and all those possessions were winning plays.”

On the other end, Cam Thomas took 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 didn’t all fall on Thomas’ shoulders — Milton and Wilson deservedly closed the game, while Ben Simmons had a strong start to the period — but most simply put, Brooklyn gave him the ball, and the rest all worked out.

Thomas had a very simple explanation for his offensive output: “I felt better. Obviously, I played better. You feel good, you play good,” referencing the “sickness” he battled through against Philadelphia on Friday night.

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

Not only did Thomas played the ideal JordiBall game, the whole team did. Nobody hesitated a lick from three, but everybody took good shots. And sure, they made a ton of ‘em, but even when they started rimming out, the Nets just took it to another level, playing their best defense of the night. Ultimately, they walked into Sacramento and not only outplayed the Kings, but outworked them with a heartier composure, then walked out and headed down I-80 to San Francisco. All in a night’s work.

That all sure reflects well on one man, a former employee of the Sacramento Kings.

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

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

Final Score: Brooklyn Nets 108, Sacramento Kings 103

Jordi’s reunion

Jordi Fernández couldn’t totally escape the spotlight his homecoming provided. Prior to tip-off, Kings Head Coach Mike Brown reflected on their relationship, even reflecting on their first meeting.

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

Prior to their partnership in Sacramento, Brown and Fernández grew close with the Cleveland Cavaliers; Brown was coaching the big league squad while Fernández manned their G League team (then ‘D League’), 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 Nets fans’ ears on Sunday evening, calling Fernández “the right guy for the [Nets] job.”

“They’re obviously thinking about a rebuild, at least that’s 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 stuff like that, because going through that process — if that’s what they’re doing — it can be a lot of ups and downs.

“You need a guy that’s going to be steady, have good relationships with everybody, and keep the spirits up. He has them playing really, really, really hard … I can only imagine the success that he’s going to have, especially given some time, once they figure out which 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 great person: “How he treated me and everybody else is not just — it’s always good when you see not just how you’re treated but how he treats other people. I think it’s a quality that is very important, especially when we’re working in a business like this.”

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

“That’s great. I take the hug, I don’t take the first part. We’ll try to do the same thing for sure.”

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 vs. the Western Conference. Only the Cavaliers (4-0) have a better record.
• Jordi Fernandez, with the aid of assistant coach Connor Griffin, won another challenge Sunday night, giving the Nets league highs of 20 challenges and more importantly 13 overturned rulings following reviews.
• Brooklyn posted a 44-9 advantage in bench points in the victory.
• Cam Thomas reached the 30-point mark for the team-high sixth time this season.
• Noah Clowney became the first Nets player 20 years old 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 40+ threes in his career, the first time back in December 2021 with Phoenix. He finished the game with three and with 58 three’s in 17 games, he’s on track to break the franchise record (as long as he’s still with the franchise) ty the 69th game he plays.

Injury Report

As previously mentioned, Dennis Schröder and Dorian Finney-Smith were absent from Sunday’s contest. Schröder went through steady downgrading, from probable to questionable to out, with right ankle soreness. Whether he plays on Monday night vs. the Golden State Warriors will give some insight on 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 gonna do what’s best for his body and for him,” said Fernández. “He’s almost a guy that you have to tell him, ‘Hey, I’m telling you that you’re out,’ because otherwise, he’ll play through everything. That’s who he is. He’s another one of our leaders, tough, competitive, that’s why we are who we are. And right now, he’ll be out for these two games, and then we’ll reevaluate where he’s at. Again, we’re not going to force anything. For me, it’s not a major issue, but we also want him to feel good and play without pain.”

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

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

Nothing new as well on Jaylen Martin the Nets two-way who’s on assignment with Long Island. It appeared he severely injured his right knee in the Long Island loss to the Raptors 905 in suburban Toronto.

Next Up

Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

The Brooklyn Nets will 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 p.m. ET.

• Boxscore: Brooklyn Nets 108, Sacramento Kings 103 – NBA
• Game Highlights: Brooklyn Nets 108, Sacramento Kings 103 (Video) – NBA
• Jordi Fernández and Cam Thomas Post Game Press Conference (Video) – NBA
• Cam Thomas talks setting the tone in Sacramento (Video) – Meghan Triplett – YES Network
• Jordi Fernández on Brooklyn’s road win over the Kings (Video) – YES Network
• Cam Thomas breaks down 108-103 win over Kings (Video) – YES Network
• Jordi Fernández discusses the play of Cam Johnson (Video) – YES Network
• Cam Thomas scores 34 points and Nets beat Kings 108-103 – Eric He – AP
• Cam Thomas scores 34 points, helps Nets rally past Kings – Larry Fleisher – Reuters
• Nets rally to give Jordi Fernandez tight win over ex-team Kings, mentor – Brian Lewis – New York Post
• Nets dethrone Kings 108-103 behind 3-point barrage – C.J. Holmes – New York Daily News
• Nets give Jordi Fernandez an emotional win over Kings and his former mentor Mike Brown ($) – Evan Barnes – Newsday
• Nets’ Jordi Fernandez reveals what version of Cam Thomas he wants to see after Kings win – Erik Slater – Clutch Points