Youthful Nets absorbing Fernández’s credo

Nets coach Jordi Fernández will be back on the bench Thursday at Barclays Center after missing Sunday’s blowout win over the Bucks with the flu. Photo: Tony Gutierrez/AP

Stuck at home with the flu watching the Nets on television, Sunday, Nets coach Jordi Fernández could see the fruits of his and the youngest team in the NBA’s collective labor.

And he only wants to see more.

“The NBA is a tough business, a tough schedule at times,” Fernández insisted Wednesday, three days after Brooklyn posted a franchise record-tying 45-point win over Milwaukee at Barclays Center.

The “one percent better” mantra that Fernández has preached since assuming the head coaching job here prior to last season applies to veterans and young players alike.

However, the Nets (7-18) are coming off a historic draft haul of five first-round picks, including three who were 19 years of age when they were selected in June.

Emerging rookies like Egor Dëmin and Drake Powell fit into that category, even though the latter has cracked the 20-year mark this year.

Both were the subject of their coach’s disillusionment following last Friday’s 119-111 defeat in Dallas that saw the duo log 21 combined minutes, including only three for Powell.

Dëmin was held to three points on 1-of-7 shooting, including 1-of-4 from 3-point range, to go with two turnovers.

Powell only got on the hardwood for three minutes and did not score against the Mavericks as Brooklyn failed to complete its second modest win streak of the campaign.

“Whatever it is, you gotta keep doing it every night, and when you’re 19, the only thing that you know is that you don’t know,” Fernández added.

They seem to have gotten the point over the weekend.

Dëmin led nine Nets in double digits in scoring with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting, while Powell registered 13 points on a 4-of-7 performance from the field off the bench.

Rookie Egor Dëmin admits that he’s had difficulty shaking off bad performances during the early stages of his first year in Brooklyn. Photo: Angelina Katsanis/AP

The rookie duo earned a measure of praise from their coach, but also a reminder that the NBA is an unforgiving league for players living on their previous performance.

Be it good or bad.

Especially on a team that began the year 3-16 and has won four of its last six to provide its fan base with hope for a brighter future.

Fernández will be back on the bench Thursday night, when the Nets try to win their second straight on this three-game homestand vs. the slumping Miami Heat (14-12), who have lost a season-high five in a row and six of their last seven.

Dëmin, Powell and fellow first-rounders Danny Wolf, Nolan Traore and Ben Saraf, who also missed Sunday’s game due to illness, will be on the spot to show continued improvement.

“We knew that that was in them,” Fernández said of Dëmin and Powell. “But it’s not just to do it again, but sustain it for a long run and do it better.

“Our guys care, and we know how much they care, especially these two kids,” he added. “They came back, and they did what was best for the group, and their performance was up to our standards.”

Michael Porter Jr, the undisputed veteran leader of this team at 27, let Sunday’s blowout win flow through the rest of the Nets after managing 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting to go with six boards and five assists.

He isn’t likely to have many nights where he is tied for fourth on the team in scoring going forward. But the young Nets displayed their worth against a Bucks team that dropped to 1-3 in the absence of injured superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Now, Brooklyn turns its attention to a Heat squad that will show up at Barclays without the services of guards Tyler Herro (toe) and Pelle Larsson (ankle) and forward Nikola Jovic (elbow).

Dëmin, selected eighth overall six months ago, admitted he didn’t suffer through many losses or poor performances during his time playing in Russia, Spain or Brigham Young University following Sunday’s win.

He revealed ahead of Thursday’s game that he is getting better at bouncing back from bad performances, or those that Fernández insists he learns from during this 82-game grind of a regular season.

“All of it is a process,” Dëmin admitted. “Obviously, I want to do better in every game.

“But sometimes, there’s 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.”

Assistant Steve Hetzel was at the helm for the Nets’ biggest win of the Brooklyn era. The New Jersey Nets stomped the Washington Wizards by 45 points in 1993.

He also noticed how Fernández’s standard was met, even for a single game that resulted in him receiving a locker-room dousing for his first NBA coaching victory.

“Normally, (Porter) has been carrying us offensively, and then you see how spread out the points are amongst the group,” he gushed. “I don’t think anybody that stepped on the court played poorly — complete team effort, totally focused.

“It feels good … we’re all an extension of Jordi, and everything that he’s done.”

After beginning the year with a franchise-worst 0-9 start at home, the Nets have sent their fans home happy in three of their last four games at Barclays.

They’ll try to post their first back-to-back wins in Brooklyn against the Heat, who are coming off Monday’s 106-96 loss to visiting Toronto.

Bam Abedayo and Normal Powell finished with 20 points apiece for Miami, which lost Jovic for at least a week on a driving layup in the opening quarter.

Powell is listed as questionable for Thursday with a calf injury, but if Saraf comes back for Brooklyn, the Nets will only be missing Cam Thomas, who continues to work his way back from a strained left hamstring that has shelved him since Nov. 5.

Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.

The game will air locally on the YES Network.

Bam Abedayo will try to shoot the slumping Heat back into the win column in Downtown Brooklyn on Thursday night. Photo: Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP

NOTHING BUT NET: Thanks to their recent run of success, the Nets have closed within 3 ½ games of Chicago for the final play-in tournament spot. They are also shooting for their second straight win over Miami after averting a three-game season-series sweep to the Heat with a 102-86 win here at Barclays on Feb. 7.

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After hosting Miami, the Nets will finish up the homestand vs. the Raptors on Sunday at 6 p.m.