Nets can't climb out of early hole in 121-105 loss to Clippers

C.J. Holmes, New York Daily News on Jan 9, 2026

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NEW YORK — Two nights after rallying late against the Orlando Magic, the Nets found themselves in a familiar hole Friday night at Barclays Center. This time, there was no dramatic comeback to chase, but the result was the same. Brooklyn never led in a 121-105 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, a defeat that dropped it to 11-24 and showed how quickly things can get away when the response never arrives.

The age gap showed up immediately. The NBA’s youngest roster faced the league’s oldest, and for the Nets, the learning curve hit fast and hard.

Michael Porter Jr. finished with 18 points on 7-for-20 shooting and missed all nine of his attempts from 3-point range, though he added five rebounds and six assists. Egor Dëmin led Brooklyn with 19 points and knocked down five 3-pointers, becoming the first rookie in franchise history to make at least five triples in back-to-back games and the 28th rookie in NBA history to do so.

“There’s room to improve,” Nets coach Jordi Fernández said. “I know our guys care and we’re going to come back and get better.”

Brooklyn couldn’t buy a bucket to start. The Nets missed their first six shots, then their seventh, then their eighth, and by the time John Collins walked into an uncontested dunk at the 7:46 mark, they were already in a 16-2 hole. Fernández had seen enough, burning an early timeout as the Clippers dictated everything on both ends and James Harden settled in almost instantly.

Dëmin finally stopped the bleeding out of the huddle, drilling a left-corner 3 to give Brooklyn a pulse, but the climb was steep from there. To their credit, the Nets didn’t fold. Defensive pressure picked up, Porter and Terance Mann found some rhythm, and the energy carried through the bench. A Danny Wolf 3 cut it to seven with 2:07 left in the quarter, but that was as close as it got. Los Angeles still closed the opening frame up 35-25 after leading by as many as 16, with Harden already up to 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting and very much in control.

It got ugly again in a hurry.

In just two minutes and 19 seconds, the Clippers opened the second quarter on a 10-0 run, pushing the lead to 20 even after Fernández burned another timeout. The fog never lifted. Brooklyn struggled to generate anything clean, coughed up seven turnovers that led to 14 Clippers points, and shot just 37% from the field and 25% from 3-point range in the first half. Los Angeles, meanwhile, carved up the Nets at a 63.2% clip, with Harden pouring in 22 points as the Clippers carried a 63-47 lead into the break.

Brooklyn did have a push, trimming the deficit to nine with 8:16 left in the third behind a brief surge at both ends. It didn’t last. The Nets went cold again as Kawhi Leonard heated up and Harden kept rolling, and the lead ballooned back to 16 in a hurry. Los Angeles carried a 91-76 advantage into the fourth, with Harden sitting on a wildly efficient 31 points. Brooklyn did win the quarter 29-28, though, despite shooting just 38.7%.

The Clippers pushed their lead to its largest of the night at 109-86 on a Jordan Miller floater in transition with 5:32 left, and that effectively sealed it. Fernández and Tyronn Lue emptied their benches with 2:26 left.

Leonard complimented Harden’s scoring with 26 points of his own.

The Nets will hit the road for a three-game Western Conference trip, beginning Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum.