Egor Dëmin caught fire late on Wednesday and joined some elite company in the history books, narrowly sending the Brooklyn Nets to an overtime win over the Orlando Magic.
Dëmin finished with 18 points, five rebounds, five assists, one steal and one blocked shot in the 104-103 loss at the Barclays Center. He connected on five 3-pointers and was a plus-10 in nearly 32 minutes for the Nets, who trailed by as many as 18 points in the third quarter.
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The eighth pick in the 2025 NBA draft tallied all 18 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, including two game-tying or go-ahead 3-pointers in the last 30 seconds. He became the first rookie to accomplish such a feat since Kevin Durant in April 2008.
Dëmin recorded 10 points in overtime on 3-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc, setting the franchise record for 3s made by any player in extra time. It tied the most in history by a rookie, joining Tyler Herro, Brandon Knight, Walter Herrmann, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony.
“That was one of those moments in high school, or when I was a kid, shooting alone in the gym, and thinking about moments like this and going through things like I’m hitting the game-winning shot and five 3s in a row,” Dëmin said. “This was one of those moments that I was kind of manifesting when I was a kid. It felt really, really good, but we didn’t get a win, so it doesn’t really matter anymore.”
Dëmin is averaging 10.2 points, 3.5 assists and 3.4 rebounds on 38.3% shooting from 3-point range in 31 appearances. He is second in 3-pointers among rookies (72) and is one of 10 first-year players with at least three 20-point games.
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The 19-year-old on Dec. 29 set the Nets’ single-game rookie 3-point record after converting seven of his 14 attempts in a loss to the Golden State Warriors. His recent shooting display hasn’t been much of a surprise to coach Jordi Fernández.
“It is not the first time you see him in the fourth quarter just letting it fly and the ball going in,” Fernández said. “Every time he shoots it, I think it is going in. Maybe he got a little lucky on the one on the backboard, but those still count, right? Credit to him to have the conviction to shoot it, to make them. I’m very happy for him. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the win, but I’m very proud of the group for fighting and being resilient.”
Dëmin has started the past 24 games for the Nets, showcasing his potential in spurts. He has finished in double figures 14 times over that span, averaging 11.6 points, 3.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 39.5% from 3-point range.
Fernández and the team have challenged Dëmin to play more consistently and bring high energy each time he steps onto the court. He is mostly pleased with how he has performed this season, but he is looking to take the next step in his development.
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“I really got to move on from bad games to the next day because we have so many games in a row, especially now when January starts,” Dëmin said. “I think within the game, I’m really trying to be with the same mentality of not thinking about what happened before and just try to be as best as I can be in the present.”
This article originally appeared on Rookie Wire: Nets news: Egor Dëmin joins LeBron, others in history in latest feat