Nets' comeback unravels in 129-110 loss to Grizzlies

C.J. Holmes, New York Daily News on Nov 14, 2026

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Michael Porter Jr. was on the Nets’ bench in Memphis on Saturday. By the middle of the third quarter, so were Egor Dëmin and Day’Ron Sharpe. Brooklyn had just gotten within eight, as close as it had been since the first quarter. Their leading scorer was out for personal reasons, and two of the players who had helped them get back into the game were sitting when it got away.

The Memphis Grizzlies beat Brooklyn, 129-110, at FedExForum, dropping the Nets to 3-9 and sending them home with a 1-3 road trip. Memphis made 9 of 11 3-pointers in the opening quarter. The Grizzlies made just 2 of 12 after halftime and stretched their lead to 26 anyway.

By then, the easiest shots in the building were coming at Brooklyn’s rim.

Porter was a late scratch. YES Network reported that a personal matter came up on his way to the arena. Head coach Jordi Fernández started Noah Clowney in his place, with Dëmin the lone guard alongside Sharpe, Danny Wolf and Julius Randle.

Memphis, missing leading scorer Ty Jerome with right hip soreness, got 23 points and 12 rebounds from Cedric Coward and 17 points and eight assists from Cam Spencer.

Brooklyn’s first answer to the 3-point barrage came from Dëmin and Mikel Brown Jr. The two guards made four 3s together in the second quarter and helped trim a 20-point deficit to 10. Fernández split them up with 2:34 left and the Nets down 12. In the final 14.3 seconds, Cameron Boozer tipped in his own miss, then took the ball from Randle. Spencer buried a 26-footer at the horn to make it 71-54.

The original five made headway after halftime. Sharpe kept misses alive, Clowney scored eight points in the third and Randle made a step-back 3 to cut it to 85-77 with 5:12 left. Dëmin had come out eight seconds earlier. Sharpe sat 16 seconds after the shot. Randle threw one pass out of bounds, then had the ball stripped by Coward, who found Javon Small for a dunk.

By the time Brown returned, Brooklyn was down 17. Brown and Dëmin never played together in the third.

There was a case for sticking with size. Clowney finished with 15 points and three blocks, and Sharpe grabbed nine offensive rebounds. How long to leave Sharpe out was the tougher call. The center sat for 9:25, and an eight-point deficit became 24 by his return. Brooklyn outscored Memphis by four in his minutes and was outscored by 23 with him on the bench. Memphis won the paint 24-8 in the third and turned 16 Brooklyn turnovers into 30 points on the night.

Wolf scored 11 of his 14 points in the fourth, hitting three 3-pointers during a 15-2 run that cut the lead to 13. Sharpe set up two of those 3s and finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, extending his franchise record for a center to five straight games with at least five assists. Brooklyn made 17 3s to Memphis’ 15 and still lost by 19.

The Nets return to Barclays Center to face the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.