Egor Demin started slowly, but like the rest of the Brooklyn Nets, the rookie is making strides and nearly willed them to victory Wednesday night.
Demin and the Nets attempt to shake off a buzzer-beating loss Friday night when they host the Los Angeles Clippers, who are trying to dig out of an early hole.
The Nets are a respectable 8-7 in their past 15 games since dropping 16 of their first 19. They won seven of 10 before losing four of the last five, though they nearly stole a win from the Orlando Magic thanks to Demin.
Before the Nets took a 104-103 loss on Paolo Banchero’s bank 3-pointer at the overtime buzzer, Demin nearly helped them complete a comeback from an 18-point deficit. Demin scored all 18 of his points in the final 3:22 of regulation and overtime.
He hit a tying 3 to force overtime with 5.6 seconds left in regulation and scored 10 in overtime, including a 3 to give the Nets a 103-101 lead with 5.3 seconds left before Banchero’s game-winner.
Demin scored in double figures for the fourth straight game and has done so in eight of his past nine. In his last four games, he is 17 of 32 from 3-point range.
His clutch showing against Orlando supported 34 points from Michael Porter Jr, who has scored at least 25 in 10 of his past 12 contests.
“That’s not the first time he’s done (this), when it’s been a close game in the fourth and he’s made super timely shots. That’s the signs of a big-time player,” Porter said of Demin. “He has confidence in himself. And when you put the type of work in that he does, you can go scoreless for 3 1/2 quarters and then hit the biggest shots of the game. So, I was proud of him for staying with it and giving our team a chance to win.”
The Clippers lost 21 of their first 27 games, but since their 122-101 loss at Oklahoma City on Dec. 18, they are 7-2 in their past nine.
Los Angeles won six straight Dec. 20-Jan. 1 before dropping two of its next three. On Wednesday, the Clippers took a 123-111 loss at the New York Knicks. The Clippers held a five-point lead at halftime before getting outscored 72-55 in the second half when the Knicks shot 57.4%.
It was the second time in three games that the Clippers were dominated after halftime. Los Angeles also got outscored 75-52 in the final two quarters of Saturday’s 146-115 home loss to the Boston Celtics.
“I thought we played a pretty solid game overall, but we didn’t make shots like we wanted to in the second half,” Los Angeles coach Tyronn Lue said.
The defensive woes were magnified because of quiet showings in the second half by stars Kawhi Leonard and James Harden.
Leonard scored 21 of his 25 points before halftime and went scoreless in the fourth quarter, when the Clippers shot 32%. Harden returned from sitting out Monday’s game against the Golden State Warriors with a sore right shoulder and scored 23 but shot 6 of 17 and scored two points in the fourth.
“We just couldn’t score at certain times and they made shots,” Harden said. “That’s the game right there.”
