The Brooklyn Nets responded from their opening-game loss with an impressive 89-69 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, fueled by balanced scoring, dominant rebounding, and stifling defense. Seven different Nets scored at least nine points in the convincing win.
The Brooklyn Nets bounced back with an impressive 89-69 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks Sunday afternoon in their second game of the California Classic, earning their first win of the 2026 NBA Summer League.
Behind a balanced offensive attack, dominant rebounding and stifling defense, Brooklyn controlled the game for nearly the entire 40 minutes.
With both teams playing on the second day of a back-to-back, each side rested several key players, allowing deeper roster players an opportunity to showcase themselves while competing for NBA or G League opportunities. Brooklyn was once again without Mikel Brown Jr. and Danny Wolf, while Drake Powell, Egor Demin, Chaney Johnson, Tyler Bilodeau and Ben Saraf also sat.
Despite a slow start offensively, the Nets quickly settled into the game and dominated for much of the afternoon behind strong ball movement, hot three-point shooting and relentless work on the glass.
Brooklyn opened the game sluggishly, falling behind 12-4 after Milwaukee knocked down three early three-pointers while the Nets struggled to generate quality looks offensively.
The momentum shifted midway through the quarter.
DJ Murray sparked the comeback with an aggressive floater before knocking down a corner three, while Ben Humrichous connected on three triples in the opening period, including a buzzer-beating corner three off an inbounds pass to cap the quarter. Dion Brown also provided an immediate spark off the bench with a steal that led to a fast-break layup during a 15-5 Brooklyn run.
Brooklyn shot 52.2 percent from the field and 5-of-8 from three in the opening quarter, erasing its early deficit to take a 29-24 lead.
Brooklyn completely took control before halftime.
The Nets turned up their defensive pressure with a full-court press that repeatedly forced Milwaukee turnovers and created easy transition opportunities. Hunter Sallis knocked down a three-pointer before John Ukomadu beat the shot clock with a timely triple, while Humrichous and Murray continued to catch fire from deep.
Dain Dainja dominated around the basket with several powerful finishes, Aaron Scott added a jump hook, and Duke Brennan consistently created second-chance opportunities with his work on the offensive glass.
Brooklyn outscored Milwaukee 27-12 in the second quarter to take a commanding 56-36 halftime lead.
Perhaps most impressive was Brooklyn's ball security. After committing 20 turnovers in Saturday's loss to Sacramento, the Nets turned the ball over just once in the first half while recording 13 assists. Milwaukee shot just 35.3 percent from the field through the opening two quarters as Brooklyn's defense controlled the game.
Milwaukee came out of halftime with much more energy.
Milwaukee increased its defensive intensity and forced several Brooklyn turnovers, generating much more success in transition while cutting into the deficit. The Nets committed seven turnovers in the third quarter alone as the Bucks briefly found some rhythm offensively.
Still, every time Milwaukee threatened to build momentum, Brooklyn answered.
Murray continued attacking the basket, Sallis knocked down another three-pointer, and Humrichous buried his fifth three-pointer of the afternoon to help the Nets maintain a comfortable 72-54 lead entering the final period.
Brooklyn quickly put any hopes of a Milwaukee comeback to rest.
Sallis opened the quarter with another three-pointer before Dainja converted inside as Brooklyn continued pushing the pace in transition. Brennan remained active around the rim with back-to-back layups before throwing down a dunk off an assist from Brown, highlighting another strong sequence for the Nets' second unit.
Brooklyn dominated the glass all afternoon, finishing with a commanding 50-29 rebounding advantage while collecting 15 offensive rebounds that repeatedly led to second-chance opportunities.
The balanced offensive attack was one of Brooklyn's biggest takeaways from the victory, with seven different players scoring at least nine points. Sallis led the way with 15 points, six rebounds and six assists, while Humrichous matched him with 15 points and eight rebounds, knocking down five three-pointers. Murray added 14 points after another aggressive performance, Brennan recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds, including five offensive boards, and Dainja contributed 10 points and seven rebounds in the paint. Brown filled the stat sheet with nine points, six rebounds and eight assists off the bench, while Scott chipped in nine points and six rebounds to cap off Brooklyn's complete team effort.
For Milwaukee, Brandon Boston Jr. led all Bucks scorers with 18 points, while Kira Lewis Jr. added 13 in the loss.
While Brooklyn's 15 second-half turnovers remain an area that will need improvement, the overall performance was a significant step forward from Saturday's opener. The Nets shared the basketball effectively, dominated the glass, defended at a high level for most of the afternoon, and bounced back with a convincing victory to improve to 1-1 in California Classic play.
Brooklyn will wrap up California Classic play Monday night against the Golden State Warriors before heading to Las Vegas for NBA Summer League.
Mikel Brown Jr., who missed Brooklyn's first two Summer League games, is expected to make his debut after head coach Dutch Gaitley said the rookie is on track to play Monday.
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