Jordi Fernandez has blunt reaction to Devin Vassell torching Nets for 37 points
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The Brooklyn Nets’ defense was again nowhere to be found when they traveled to face the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday. Jordi Fernandez’s squad dropped its fifth straight, allowing the Spurs to shoot 52-of-95 (55 percent) from the field and 18-of-39 (46 percent) from three en route to a 127-113 blowout victory.
Devin Vassell torched the Nets for a career-high 37 points while shooting 14-of-20 from the field and 8-of-11 from three.
"Our defense was not good enough, and that's what we have to embrace right now," Fernandez told reporters postgame. "[Vassell] just plays simple basketball. And obviously it was not fun to watch for me. We should've been better, get him off the 3-point line, make him dribble more, maybe we get him in trouble. But we were not able to do it. So once again, our defense has got to be challenged. We have to be better."
A CAREER NIGHT FOR DEVIN VASSELL
37 PTS (career high)
70.0 FG% (14-20 fgm)
11 REB
8 3PM (career high)
5 ASTBecomes the only player in @spurs history to record 35p, 10r, 5a, and 5 3pm in a game. pic.twitter.com/u7bBuCYo2d
— NBA (@NBA) March 5, 2025
The Nets held the NBA’s best defense during a 6-2 stretch in early February, holding opponents to 97.9 points on 41.4 percent shooting from the field and 30.2 percent from three while forcing 15.3 turnovers per game.
However, those numbers have done a 180 over the last two weeks, and with the Nets continuing to field one of the league’s worst offenses, the losses are piling up.
Nets defensive regression continues against Spurs as losing streak hits five
While the Nets’ ball-pressure overwhelmed opponents during their recent hot streak, they undoubtedly benefited from positive shooting regression. Brooklyn’s opponents ranked 29th at 30.2 percent from beyond the arc during the team’s 6-2 stretch.
However, the Nets’ defensive intensity has taken a noticeable step back during their five-game losing skid. Opponents have taken advantage of open three-point looks, shooting 40.9 percent, the NBA’s best percentage.
“Credit to those guys, their shooters did a great job and we didn’t find a way to get them off the three-point line,” Fernandez said. “We gotta be better. And right now, if we struggle defending the three, we’re about to play a team [Golden State Warriors] that shoots the three very well and has got the best shooter in the world [in Stephen Curry]. So it’s a good challenge… Let’s get better at defending threes and there’s no better way than playing against this next team.”
D’Angelo Russell returned from an ankle injury in San Antonio after Cam Thomas returned from a hamstring strain on Friday vs. the Detroit Pistons. Tuesday’s loss marks the starting backcourt duo’s second time playing together since Russell joined the team in a Dec. 29 trade from the Los Angeles Lakers.
Thomas scored a team-high 24 points on 8-of-19 shooting with six assists and one turnover, while Russell added 12 points and four assists on 4-of-11 shooting.
The loss dropped the Nets 2.5 games behind the Chicago Bulls for the Eastern Conference’s play-in spot. It also pulled them within 1.5 games of the Toronto Raptors for fifth place in the draft lottery standings.
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