ATLANTA — Just because the Nets aren’t fighting for a championship in coach Jordi Fernandez’s debut season, that doesn’t mean they can’t show some fight. They might have shown a little too much in his first game as coach.
The Nets momentarily lost their poise in Wednesday’s season opener, and then lost 120-116 to Atlanta at State Farm Arena.
“I loved our physicality. We’ve been talking about Brooklyn grit, right? You saw it with 32 fouls,” Fernandez said. “The only thing is, we got to be smarter. Our technique has to be better. We have to lead with our chest and show our hands. They shot 21 more free throws.”
A shorthanded six-point underdog on the road — and projected by the sportsbooks to win a league-low 19.5 games — few expected the Nets to win this one.
Yet they led late in the third quarter, and trailed just 90-89 with 8:22 left when they allowed a 12-3 run — aided by a pair of frustration fouls, including a Flagrant 2 by Nic Claxton that got the center ejected.
“Yeah, that was clearly a foul,” Fernandez said. “You know, we don’t want anybody to see anybody get hurt. I’m pretty sure he didn’t mean to.”
It marred the debut of Fernandez, the first Spaniard to become an NBA head coach and just the third European.
“For sure. It’s definitely an honor to be one of 30. It’s an honor to represent the basketball that I come from, right, to come from Spain,” Fernandez said before the game. “I grew up in a FIBA environment, and then I came to the NBA working for 15 years. So the journey is really cool. I thought about it a lot. And like I said, I’m extremely proud and very happy.
“At the same time, the most important thing is you appreciate that, and then you keep going; because my goal is not just to coach in the NBA. My goal is to sustain it, to build a winning program, to be competitive, to be in the playoffs, to fight for a championship. It’s always the next step. Otherwise, if I don’t see the challenge, I’ll be in my hometown, probably living a great life. So I have to have a reason to live with this crazy schedule and do what we do on a daily basis.”
In truth, the performance wasn’t victorious but it was solid.
After all, Nets owner Joe Tsai and general manager Sean Marks have embarked on a rebuild, tanking for the top pick in the draft.
But they also want to develop the youth they already have, and there were positive signs Wednesday night.
Cam Thomas poured in a game-high 36 points, albeit 20 in the fourth quarter. Jalen Wilson added 16 off the bench. Claxton — who came off the bench after missing the preseason with a sore hamstring — was tossed for a foul on Dyson Daniels, a borderline clothesline that was upgraded from a common foul to a flagrant, with the Hawk getting off the floor and going after him.
The Nets’ start was slow and shaky.
Brooklyn allowed a 3-pointer by De’Andre Hunter, and then Ben Simmons (six points, eight assists) turned the ball over to Clint Capela, with another 3-pointer by Daniels.
Down 13-4, the Nets clawed back into it with a 9-0 run to get back in the game. Simmons found Cam Johnson for a driving layup to knot the score at 13-all.
Brooklyn held the Hawks scoreless for 4:23, forcing eight straight misses and a couple of turnovers.
Trailing 35-31 after a dunk by Onyeka Okongwu (28 points), the Nets reeled off 10 unanswered.
Dorian Finney-Smith capped the blitz with a driving layup for a 41-35 with 7:32 left in the half.
But Finney-Smith picked up his fourth foul just seconds before the break, and Simmons his fourth with 6:59 left in the third and the Nets clinging to a 64-63 edge.
The lead didn’t last.
Trae Young (30 points) drove all the way to the hoop for a go-ahead layup on the very next play. Noah Clowney put the Nets back ahead on the next play, but the lead was brief.
After Hunter tied it with a free throw, a Daniels 3-pointer with 5:26 left in the third quarter put Atlanta ahead.
The Nets never led again the rest of the evening.
“It’s huge for him. I’m happy for him. But it’s gonna be a lot of work and energy that goes into this. It’s the first game; we’ll take it day by day. I’m excited for him,” Finney-Smith said. “Obviously, we make our goals small, so we just get better each game. … But of course, we want to make it to the playoffs. Ain’t nobody going into no season saying we’re trying to lose. We’re trying to win as many games as we can.”