The Brooklyn Nets got their revenge. After falling to Sacramento in the California Classic, Brooklyn forced 28 turnovers and never looked back, rolling to a dominant 115-83 Summer League victory over the Kings.
The Brooklyn Nets turned in their most complete performance of the NBA Summer League on Tuesday night, rolling past the Sacramento Kings 115-83 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas to improve to 2-1.
After falling to Sacramento during the California Classic earlier this month, Brooklyn wasted no time getting its revenge, taking control from the opening tip with relentless defensive pressure and a balanced offensive attack. The Kings entered Tuesday after going undefeated (3-0) in the California Classic before splitting their first two games in Las Vegas.
For the first time all summer, every available Nets player was active. Sacramento also had a different-looking lineup than the teams' first meeting, as Maxime Raynaud and 2026 first-round pick Alex Karaban both suited up after neither played in the California Classic matchup against Brooklyn.
The Nets opened the game on an 18-2 run, forcing turnover after turnover while cashing in with easy points on the other end. Danny Wolf finished multiple fast breaks, Chaney Johnson scored inside, Joshua Jefferson turned a steal into a layup, and Egor Demin set the tone early by attacking the rim while making plays on both ends of the floor.
By the middle of the opening quarter, Sacramento had committed more turnovers than field-goal attempts as Brooklyn's defense completely disrupted the Kings' offense.
Demin closed out a dominant first quarter by knocking down a deep three before drawing a foul on another three-point attempt with 0.1 seconds remaining. He calmly made all three free throws to give the Nets a commanding 38-18 lead after one. Demin scored 16 points in the opening quarter as Brooklyn put together its best quarter of Summer League.
After a slow start offensively this summer, Drake Powell found his rhythm in the second quarter, knocking down three three-pointers in the quarter to help push Brooklyn's lead to 30. The Kings answered with a 9-0 run behind Emanuel Sharp's hot shooting, cutting into the deficit before Brooklyn responded.
Demin stopped the run with a transition dunk, then ended the half with a putback slam just before the buzzer to send the Nets into halftime with a comfortable 56-34 lead. He finished the first half with 20 points, while Powell added 14 in his best offensive stretch of the summer.
Brooklyn's defense remained the biggest story through two quarters, forcing 15 Sacramento turnovers that consistently led to easy scoring opportunities.
Wolf got things started with a poster dunk before Johnson, Mikel Brown Jr. and Powell helped fuel an 11-0 Brooklyn run that stretched the lead to 33 points. Brown scored in transition, finished through traffic with his left hand, and later buried a three-pointer over Darius Acuff Jr. as the Nets continued to pull away.
Acuff and Sharp continued to produce offensively for Sacramento, but every time the Kings put together a few baskets, Brooklyn had an answer. The Nets carried an 86-63 lead into the fourth quarter and never looked back.
Jefferson provided a spark with a transition layup, a dunk, and later a three-pointer, while Ben Saraf converted a steal into an easy basket to give the Nets their first 100-point game of Summer League. Ben Humrichous knocked down a three off the bench before John Ukomadu converted an and-one as Brooklyn cruised to the finish.
Demin once again led Brooklyn with 22 points, eight rebounds and four steals, continuing his impressive Summer League. Powell followed with 18 points in a much-needed breakout performance after struggling to find his rhythm through the first four games of the summer.
Brown finished with 16 points and five rebounds, Wolf added 14 points, Johnson recorded 13 points and nine rebounds, and Saraf chipped in 11 points, five assists and four steals as all five Nets starters scored in double figures.
Acuff led Sacramento with 26 points and five assists, while Sharp finished with 23 points.
The Nets forced 28 Sacramento turnovers and turned many of those mistakes into easy transition baskets. Brooklyn finished with 19 turnovers of its own, but its defensive intensity and ability to capitalize on Sacramento's mistakes made that number largely irrelevant in a wire-to-wire victory.
The Nets will look to build on their strongest showing of Summer League when they take on the Houston Rockets on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. ET in Las Vegas.
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