Nets lose fifth straight to Pelicans

New Orleans guard Saddiq Bey throws down the go-ahead basket Wednesday night as the league-worst Pelicans handed the slumping Nets their fifth straight loss. AP Photo by Gerald Herbert

Jordi Fernández got the fast start he wanted from his slumping team in New Orleans on Wednesday night.

However, Brooklyn’s second-year coach had to watch as the Nets failed down the stretch against the team with the NBA’s worst record.

Trey Murphy III scored a game-high 34 points and Saddiq Bey put up seven of the Pelicans’ final nine as Brooklyn suffered its fifth consecutive loss, a 116-113 defeat in front of 16,201 fans at the Smoothie King Center.

“The problem is right now, our focus and our intentions are not there, and that’s something that I gotta help them better, and there’s different ways you can do it, obviously,” fumed Fernández.

“So we’re trying … to find 10 guys in a rotation that care about rebounding, that care about bull pressure, they care about doing the right things, and then if you make mistakes, we can live with it.”

The Nets (11-27) were flirting with getting back into Eastern Conference play-in contention before this recent slide, their longest since opening the year with seven consecutive losses.

Coming off Monday night’s loss in Dallas, which saw Brooklyn fall behind by nine following the first quarter and fail to reel the Mavericks in thereafter, Fernández’s squad opened a 12-point lead in the second quarter of the finale of this road trip in the Crescent City.

Only to allow the struggling Pelicans (10-33) to shave that deficit to one at intermission before the teams engaged in a back-and-forth affair that went down to the buzzer.

Murphy, who also ripped down nine rebounds, went 12-of-22 from the floor, including a quintet of 3-pointers. 

Zion Williamson added 22 points on 11-of-14 shooting, but neither was as impactful as Bey in the final stages.

After Brooklyn rookie Egor Dёmin snapped a 107-107 tie with 1:28 to play on his fifth 3-ball of the night, Bey struck back.

He beat the shot clock and the Nets’ defense with an off-balance 26-footer and added a thunderous driving dunk off Murphy’s miss to give the Pelicans, losers of 11 of their previous 12 contests, a 112-110 lead with 21 ticks showing on the clock.

“They were more physical, and they fought (for) those boards, and they beat us,” Fernández ceded.

Michael Porter Jr. tried to answer with a 3-pointer from the corner that bounded off the glass and fell into the hands of Murphy with 10.6 seconds left.

Michael Porter Jr. paced six Nets in double figures with 20 points, but Brooklyn dropped its fifth in a row, its longest slide since opening the season 0-7. AP Photo by Gerald Herbert

Murphy appeared to be falling out of bounds with his own momentum, but Nic Claxton gave him a slight push that resulted in a foul call.

Fernández challenged the call to no avail and Murphy hit two free throws on the other end before rookie Drake Powell gave the Nets life with a quick 3-pointer that shaved the deficit to one with 5.8 remaining.

Claxton fouled Bey, who calmly made two more from the charity stripe, and Porter’s desperation 34-foot heave at the buzzer bounded out to leave Brooklyn to lament what could have been.

Porter led six Nets in double figures in scoring with 20 points, including four 3-pointers.

Dёmin had 17 points, Powell and Cam Thomas added 16 apiece, Day’Ron Sharpe put up 15 and Claxton finished with 10 for Brooklyn, which will head back to Barclays Center on Friday night to open a home-and-home with the Chicago Bulls.

New Orleans outrebounded the Nets 53-43, including an 18-10 margin off the offensive glass. 

The manhandling along the boards resulted in 33 second-chance points for the Pelicans, who became the last team in the Western Conference to reach double digits in wins at Brooklyn’s expense.

“At the end of the day, 33 second-chance points. Gotta give them credit because they played harder than us,” noted Fernández.

Tip-off at Barclays on Friday is slated for 7:30 p.m.

The game will air locally on the YES Network.

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Liberty All-Star guard Sabrina Ionescu will sit out the second season of Unrivaled, a 3-on-3 offseason league, due to an undisclosed injury. AP Photo by Darryl Webb

In other local pro hoops news, Liberty All-Star guard Sabrina Ionescu revealed last week that she will not be competing in Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 offseason league co-founded by teammate Breanna Stewart.

Ionescu, who was slated to play for Phantom BC, sustained an undisclosed injury during New York’s failed bid at a repeat of its historic 2024 WNBA title in Downtown Brooklyn.

“While I’m disappointed I couldn’t play this season, I’ll be rooting for the Phantom,” Ionescu said in a statement. 

“I’m looking forward to working with Unrivaled through content and broadcast opportunities and continuing to support the league’s success.”

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