Nets rookie Egor Demin responds to Jordi Fernandez challenge during historic win

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Nets rookie Egor Demin responds to Jordi Fernandez challenge during historic win

Erik Slater, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Mon, Dec 15, 2025 ·

4 min read

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Nets rookie Egor Demin responds to Jordi Fernandez challenge during historic win appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

Jordi Fernandez called out Egor Demin on Friday following the Brooklyn Nets ' loss to the Dallas Mavericks . The rookie took it in stride and responded during Sunday's blowout win over the Milwaukee Bucks .

Demin turned in one of his best performances of the season as the Nets embarrassed the Bucks , 127-82, at Barclays Center. The 19-year-old posted a team-high 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting with three rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block during the win, which tied the largest in franchise history.

"Very, very proud of [Egor]. [Jordi] challenged Egor, he challenged Drake [Powell], and they both responded beautifully, with an edge," said assistant Steve Hetzel, who was filling in for an ill Fernandez. "It's another step in their progression. They took a big step in having a bad game and then responding. And that's what the NBA's all about. You play 82 of them. You got to be quick to forget about the last one, move on and play better, which they both did."

Fernandez benched Demin down the stretch of Friday's loss. The Russian floor general played 18 minutes and only two in the fourth quarter, finishing with three points on 1-of-7 shooting with one assist and two turnovers.

Egor Demin bounces back during Nets win after Jordi Fernadez criticism

Meanwhile, Powell played only 2:40 after several first-quarter miscues. But like Demin, the rookie wing bounced back, posting 13 points, four rebounds and three assists on 4-of-7 shooting on Sunday.

"All of it is a process," Demin said. "Obviously, I want to do better in every game, but sometimes there are days like that, and I've just got to really watch film, understand what I did wrong and what I could do better. Talk to the coaches and talk to players, and learn from it, and go to the next one. Because obviously, it's a lot of games, and I haven't even done one season yet. So I'm really trying to learn how to get over games like that into the next ones."

A short memory is a prerequisite for a successful NBA career. Demin is learning that lesson after dominating during his youth days in Russia and his two seasons with Real Madrid.

"I didn't have [many] lost games in my life, honestly," Demin said. "Coming from Moscow to Spain, there was a couple of big ones, but in general, I've [always] been on a really winning team, and it's always been kind of hurting when we did lose some big games," Demin said. "In Spain, in three years, I lost probably three games… In college, I had to really start learning how to get over those bad games. Even sometimes when we win, but I'm not good with my performance or whatever. Or when we lost.

"It's so many games, and I've just got to [learn]. College was when I started learning about it. [BYU] coach [Kevin Young] is obviously from the NBA. He's like, 'You got to go to the next one.' You can't really just stay with whatever happened yesterday."

Following a slow start to the season, Demin has turned a corner while stepping in as Brooklyn's starting point guard. In 16 games as a starter, he's averaged 10.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.8 turnovers on .401/.364/.923 shooting splits.

Demin and Kon Kneuppel are the NBA's only rookies averaging 10 points and four assists on over 35 percent shooting from three during that span.

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