WASHINGTON — The Nets celebrated their second win of the season on Sunday.
But was this victory truly meaningful or just a small consolation?
Brooklyn took down Washington 129-106 in front of a sparse crowd at Capital One Arena, with only 14,164 fans—roughly half of that venue’s capacity—showing up on a day dominated by football. The two teams were competing more for a better position in the lottery than anything else, but the Nets managed to secure a win.
This outcome brought the Nets’ record to 2-11, which places them third from the bottom in the league standings, and positioned them third in the lottery rankings. Interestingly, both of their wins came against the teams right above them—both the Wizards and Pacers, who are now at an unfortunate 1-12.
While the Wizards have now lost 11 in a row, the Nets have shown some progress, winning two out of their last six games, with margin of victory hitting as high as 24 points. They’ve particularly improved on rebounding and defense.
“We’re pushing to be one percent better every day,” said Nets coach Jordi Fernandez. “We want our players to embrace the right style of play. Some games, we showed some competitive spirit, then had a rough outing, but now we’re back with two solid games. We aim for a third.”
“In striving for what we see as the right way to play, we often begin to see results—not just in terms of wins but in overall growth. It’s all interconnected. Our main focus is self-improvement. We want our players to excel, and that growth extends to our coaching staff and the organization as a whole.”
Despite missing their leading scorer, Cam Thomas, Brooklyn has made strides.
Fernandez urged Michael Porter Jr. to enhance his game by making smarter moves and being a team player. The veteran responded with a stellar performance, scoring 33 points and collecting nine rebounds while contributing seven assists and finishing plus-16.
Nonetheless, numbers don’t lie. The Nets have faced challenges defensively, averaging just 26.7 defensive rebounds—a disappointing figure not seen since the 1998-99 season. Their defensive rebound percentage of 62.5 ranks among the worst in league history. Still, they managed to outplay Washington.
Brooklyn claimed a 44-33 advantage in total rebounds and outperformed defensively with a 37-30 margin. They held the Wizards to a mere 44 percent shooting and tallied eight blocked shots.
Even after Alex Sarr had been averaging impressive numbers, the Nets managed to keep last year’s No. 2 draft pick to just nine points and three boards before he fouled out. Nic Claxton also delivered, contributing 17 points, nine boards, seven assists, and four blocks.
“We focus on our principles and how we measure success,” Fernandez reflected. “Regardless of the outcome, if we prioritize ball pressure, communication, and getting multiple efforts, we’ll be okay.”
“It might not always go smoothly,” he continued. “If we consistently apply ourselves in these areas… and don’t fixate solely on outscoring our opponents, we’ll be on the right path to strengthen our game style.”
Tyrese Martin added a solid 20 points for the Nets, who finished with an impressive plus-26 rating.
