The Nets finally got the road trip moving in the right direction, and they did it in a big way.
After dropping back-to-back games in Atlanta and Dallas, Brooklyn walked into New Orleans and lit up the Pelicans for a 145-111 win at Smoothie King Arena. It was the Nets’ first victory of the trip, and it came with their best offensive showing of the season.
Brooklyn piled up 83 points in the opening half, a season high for any half, and that total ranked as the third-most points in an opening half in franchise history. The Nets were sharp from deep early, hitting 50% of their threes in the first two quarters and never letting up once the game opened up.
Egor Demin, back in the starting lineup after missing six straight games, helped set the tone with 22 points. Michael Porter Jr. matched him with 22 of his own, and he did most of his damage early, scoring 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the first half.
The barrage kept coming after halftime. Demin opened the third quarter with another 3-pointer, stretching the lead to 20 and making it clear the Pelicans were in trouble. Brooklyn eventually pushed the margin to as many as 41 points and finished with 20 made threes on 41 attempts.
Even when the outside shot didn’t drop, the Nets found easy points. One of the best examples came late in the third, when Noah Clowney chased down a missed trey from Terance Mann and hammered home a putback slam with 3:36 left in the period. That bucket forced a timeout, but New Orleans never found a way back into the game.
Mo Wagner gave Brooklyn a lift off the bench too, scoring 16 points and getting under the skin of Pelicans head coach Jamahl Mosley, who coached him for nearly six seasons in Orlando. Wagner’s trash talk drew a technical on Mosley, while Wagner avoided any punishment of his own, aside from foul trouble.
Terance Mann added a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to close the first half and help give the Nets a 17-point cushion at the break.
Zion Williamson led New Orleans with 29 points, but the Pelicans spent much of the night reacting to Brooklyn’s pace and shot-making. The frustration spilled over late when Julian Reese got tangled with Clowney and both sides got involved in a scuffle. After review, Clowney, Mann and Jaron Pierre Jr. were all hit with technical fouls, while Reese was assessed one for his role in the altercation.
Brooklyn now has a chance to string together its first consecutive wins of the season when the trip continues Nov. 14 in Memphis.
In Other News...
Nets Backcourt Plan Hits Another Snag At The Worst Time
The Nets backcourt shuffle is getting harder to manage at a time when they can least afford it. Mikel Brown Jr. will miss the upcoming game against the New Orleans Pelicans because of illness, adding another obstacle for a team already trying to steady itself through a rough 2-8 start. Brown has been under a minutes restriction and has yet to start a game this season, so Brooklyn has been navigating his availability carefully while trying to keep some continuity in place.
Egor Demin is expected to give the group a boost by returning after a six-game absence, which at least gives the Nets another option as they try to find some rhythm. The timing matters against a Pelicans team that has dropped three straight, but Brooklyn still has to sort out how much it can lean on its guards and how quickly the rotation can settle. For a team searching for traction, every absence changes the equation a little more. [Read more 🡒]
Nets May Have A Frontcourt Option Worth Watching Closely
Grant Nelson keeps making himself harder to ignore. In Long Islands 142-106 win over the College Park Skyhawks, the forward turned in one of his best outings yet, scoring 18 points while pulling down a career-high 17 rebounds. He also flashed the kind of energy Brooklyn has been looking for in its frontcourt pipeline, running the floor well and showing he can affect the game around the rim.
The defensive side may be what gives him the most traction with the Nets. Nelson added two blocks and looked comfortable protecting the paint, which only adds to the momentum he has built with a strong preseason showing. For a Brooklyn team always monitoring its next internal option, he is starting to look like more than just a name in the system. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Suddenly Have An Early Minutes Puzzle Fans Should Watch
Egor Demins return gave Brooklyn a timely lift after a stretch of injury absences left the backcourt and wing rotation thinner than usual. The Nets had been without Nolan Traore and Mikel Brown Jr., and Demins presence helped steady things in a recent win while the team continued sorting through how to cover minutes with bodies coming and going.
The bigger question now is how Brooklyn handles the next wave of availability, especially with the roster still being managed carefully on the fly. Jordi Fernandez had to navigate the late news on Traore, and the way the Nets balance those unexpected absences against Demins re-entry into the mix could shape the early rotation picture in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]