Egor Demin’s long-awaited preseason debut headlined Friday evening because the Nets closed out their exhibition slate with a 119-114 loss to the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Area. It didn’t take lengthy for Brooklyn’s first lottery decide in 15 years to make his presence felt.
The eighth total decide in June’s draft checked in with 10:40 left within the second quarter, Brooklyn trailing by 14, and was instantly met by Toronto’s swarming protection. The second examined his composure, however Demin appeared snug from the beginning — dealing with the ball with confidence, serving to arrange the offense and flashing his defensive instincts with an early block and a pair of sharp deflections.
Demin’s first factors got here on a baseline reduce, the place Cam Thomas discovered him for a straightforward end underneath the rim. Moments later, he drew a foul on a 3-point try and sank two of his three free throws. Then, with 4:36 left within the first half, he stepped right into a 26-footer and buried it. He completed the primary half with 11 factors, one rebound, one help and one block in 11 minutes, going 6-for-7 from the free-throw line.
It was all Toronto earlier than Demin’s spark. Brooklyn stumbled out of the gate, falling behind 10–2 as three early turnovers and poor transition protection allowed the Raptors to grab management. Toronto dominated the paint, punishing the Nets’ gradual rotations and lack of communication.
Two fast fouls and a pair of turnovers from rookie Ben Saraf, who returned to the beginning lineup for Brooklyn’s preseason finale, compounded the issue. It pressured head coach Jordi Fernández to show to fellow rookie Nolan Traore halfway via the primary quarter, however the struggles continued. On his first possession, Traore was stripped from behind for Brooklyn’s sixth turnover of the interval — a play that completely summed up the group’s jittery begin.
The Nets coughed up 16 turnovers within the first half, gifting Toronto 31 factors and falling right into a 72–56 gap on the break. Exterior of Demin, Michael Porter Jr. was Brooklyn’s solely constant supply of offense, scoring 19 factors in his first 16 minutes.
Demin’s poised debut stood out as one of many few vivid spots in an in any other case mistake-filled first half, incomes him a spot on the ground to open the third quarter. He’d go on to play eight extra minutes within the second half, ending with 14 factors, 5 rebounds, one help, one block and two turnovers.
The Nets outscored Toronto 30–25 within the third quarter regardless of capturing simply 36% from the sector and committing 5 extra turnovers, trimming the deficit to 11 heading into the ultimate body. Ziaire Williams sparked the surge, scoring 9 of his 20 factors within the interval to assist Brooklyn maintain clawing again. Early within the fourth quarter, a Porter 3-pointer reduce the result in 5, and a Williams steal and slam moments later made it a three-point sport with 8:51 remaining.
Surprisingly, each coaches saved their key rotation gamers on the ground deep into the fourth, giving the preseason matchup the depth of a regular-season battle. A artful lefty end from Saraf with 7:05 remaining gave the Nets their first lead of the evening, setting the stage for a back-and-forth thriller down the stretch.
A Brandon Ingram 3-pointer put Toronto forward by three with 58.7 seconds remaining, and after a missed Nets possession, a defensive lapse led to a straightforward RJ Barrett dunk that stretched the result in 5 and sealed the sport.
Porter completed with a game-high 34 factors, whereas notable reserves Danny Wolf, Kobe Bufkin and Jalen Wilson didn’t see motion. Demin was the clear story of the evening, however Brooklyn’s resilience underneath Fernández continues to form the group’s id. As preseason finales go, the Nets couldn’t have requested for a extra encouraging tune-up earlier than the video games begin to rely.
With all 5 rookies now having logged significant minutes and the 15-man roster basically finalized, Brooklyn turns its focus to the actual factor: the beginning of the 2025–26 common season Wednesday evening towards the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Heart.
