Noah Clowney’s night in Dallas unraveled fast, and Jordi Fernandez didn’t sugarcoat it after the Brooklyn Nets’ 130-93 loss to the Mavericks on Sunday.
Clowney was done after just 7:47, finishing with two points, zero rebounds and zero assists on 1-of-3 shooting. The foul trouble piled up quickly, and Fernandez made it clear the issue wasn’t just one bad whistle - it was a pattern the Nets forward has to clean up.
Noah Clowney gets knocked down by Morez Johnson, then takes a run at him on the other end. Johnson got a technical for knocking Clowney down initially.
— Erik Slater (@ErikSlater_) November 9, 2026
Clowney has been involved in quite a few spats this season. pic.twitter.com/XN1cI3upFT
“That’s something that he’s gotta figure out. He put us in the bonus right away, in one minute.
That’s tough,” Fernandez said. “I think it comes from a good place because Noah is an extremely competitive guy, but doing the war on your own, it’s just tough at times when you do it that way.
And Clowney picks up a frustration foul on Johnson not long after. That's his sixth, so he's done.
— Erik Slater (@ErikSlater_) November 9, 2026
Clowney played 7:47 tonight. https://t.co/IfUtOFnpP2 pic.twitter.com/ULRjrynP7s
You gotta choose the right way to do it and channel all that energy, and sometimes frustration, the right way. I think the one person who is helping him and will help him is Juwan [Howard], because he’s been there.
I know that the intentions are great. It’s just keep doing what’s best for the group.”
The frustration boiled over in the third quarter. After Morez Johnson knocked Clowney down on the offensive end, Clowney answered on the other end and picked up his fifth foul.
Officials reviewed the play and gave Johnson a technical. Not long after, Clowney lost his cool again, shoved Johnson and was hit with his sixth foul, ending his night.
That sequence fit a larger trend for Clowney, whose problems this season have been tied more to what happens after the whistle than what happens during live action. He’s been in several skirmishes already, and his foul issues have become a real drag on Brooklyn’s front line.
The numbers back that up. Clowney is averaging 5.1 fouls per 36 minutes, seventh-most among 187 players who have logged more than 190 minutes this season.
In 10 appearances, he’s putting up 5.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 0.8 turnovers while shooting 16-of-43 from the field and 6-of-23 from three. Brooklyn has been 12.0 points worse per 100 possessions with him on the floor, the team’s second-worst net rating swing behind only Moe Wagner (-22.0), according to CleaningTheGlass.
Even with the rough start and the contract-year pressure after the Nets declined to extend him before the Nov. 3 deadline, Fernandez isn’t sounding ready to pull the plug on Clowney’s role.
“We need Noah Clowney,” the Nets coach said. “That first half against Charlotte, we don’t win that game without him. So we need the best version of him because we know how good he is.”
Fernandez has kept Josh Minott behind Clowney in the rotation, even though Minott flashed after Brooklyn acquired him at the deadline last season. The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 7.4 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 62.6 percent on twos and 41.8 percent on threes in 17.0 minutes per game across 49 appearances with the Nets and Boston Celtics. He was the only player in the NBA to post steal and block percentages above 2.5 while shooting better than 40.0 percent from deep, and his 4.7 deflections per 36 minutes ranked 17th among 322 players who played over 800 minutes.
Minott signed a two-year, $9 million extension this summer, but he has only seen extended minutes once this season. On Sunday, he made the most of garbage time, finishing with 10 points, two rebounds, one assist and two steals on 4-of-10 shooting while playing the entire fourth quarter.
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