Nets stomp Bucks, tie largest margin of victory in franchise history

With Jordi Fernández sidelined by the flu and Steve Hetzel stepping in, the Nets produced one of their most balanced efforts of the season, beating the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks 127-82 on Sunday at Barclays Center. The win pushed Brooklyn to 7-18 and marked its fourth victory in the last six games.

And the No. 8 pick delivered a victory that matched the largest margin in franchise history, delivering the kind of response his head coach had publicly challenged him to show two nights earlier in Dallas, finishing with a team-high 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting, with three rebounds and three assists in 26 minutes.

Gary Trent Jr. led the Bucks with 20 points.

“And that’s what the NBA is all about,” Hetzel said. “You play 82. You have to quickly forget the last one, move on and play better, which [Egor] did.”

Brooklyn certainly remembered the last meeting. Milwaukee played the Nets 116-99 on Nov. 29, a night when they didn’t have Michael Porter Jr. and the Bucks were closer to full strength. This time, with Giannis Antetokounmpo out, Brooklyn had the opportunity to flip the script.

Egor Demin made sure they did. A few days after Fernández asked him to raise his level on both ends, the rookie made his strongest start to the season. He opened 4-for-4 with nine points in seven minutes, foul trouble and all, and his early outburst helped Brooklyn take a 37-25 lead after one.

Brooklyn’s 37 points marked their highest-scoring first quarter of the season, and the 15 field goals made were also a season high, on 62.5% shooting. Demin said he intended to set the tone from the start.

“I think that’s what the coaches expect from me,” Demin said. “It’s something I try to strive for…it’s something I have to try to follow every game.”

The Nets pushed their lead to 19 in the second quarter, on a night when Michael Porter Jr. wasn’t carrying the scoring load. Milwaukee cut the lead to 11 with 3:39 left before halftime, but after a timely Hetzel timeout, Brooklyn reset and responded with a 13-7 run to regain full control.

Libra told the story. Six different players reached at least eight points in the first half, led by Nic Claxton’s 10, their most in a first half since last February at Memphis. The 65 points represented a new season high before the break, and the 17-point lead marked their second-largest halftime lead of the year.

The Nets then outscored Milwaukee 34-23 in the third, getting 14 points from Noah Clowney in the period and eight more from Demin. Brooklyn went 7-for-14 from deep and held the Bucks to 40.9 percent shooting, and the 28-point gap Milwaukee faced entering the fourth could have been even bigger if Trent hadn’t scored 13 points. Only five other Bucks scored in the quarter, and none had more than three.

“We were able to build a good lead and we played in front the whole game,” Tyrese Martin said.

Brooklyn’s three-quarter cushion was the largest in the last two seasons. Both coaches emptied their benches at 9:24, and the Nets’ lead finally ballooned to 37 with 6:17 remaining. Brooklyn closed out with rookies Demin, Nolan Traore, Drake Powell and Danny Wolf, along with Jalen Wilson.

Nine Nets reached double figures, including all five starters for only the second time this season. It was also the fewest points allowed by Brooklyn since 2018, and the bench added 60 more to complete the performance.

Brooklyn will return to Barclays Center on Thursday to face the Miami Heat.

“I don’t think anyone who stepped on the field played poorly,” Hetzel said. “A complete team effort.”