Coach Jordi Fernandez details a pivotal out-of-bounds call and dissects the Nets' final, frantic play in their narrow loss to the Pelicans.
The Brooklyn Nets fell to the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night by a score of 116-113, though the outcome could have been shifted due to a variety of factors.
New Orleans' skilled duo of 2-time All-Star Zion Williamson and rising star wing Trey Murphy III were too much to handle for Brooklyn's rapidly improving defensive group, combining for 59 points and 15 rebounds while shooting 66.6% from the floor.
Still, the Nets had their chances to come away with a victory as the game in the balance in the late stages of the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, a potential missed out of bounds call on Murphy III changed the complexion of the game.
Brooklyn's head coach Jordi Fernandez challenged the call and was unsuccessful, giving New Orleans the ball in an advantageous spot while leading 112-110 with 11 seconds left.
It was tough to see whether or not Murphy III's heels touched the baseline when he chased after and recovered a loose ball, but Fernandez believed that the refereeing crew missed an important call.
"We thought that he stepped out of bounds," Fernandez told reporters during his post-game media scrum, as shared by YES Network on X.
"And then if you get it right, this is obviously a big swing," Fernandez continued.
"So that's why we called (the challenge)."
Instead of the Nets having the ball back with just seconds remaining and down by two points, Murphy III was awarded two free throws, which he'd knock down to make it a 114-110 game. Even after that, a Drake Powell three-pointer with six seconds left gave Brooklyn yet another glimmer of hope.
Two more free throws from New Orleans' Saddiq Bey gave the Nets a chance to tie the game with no timeouts left down 116-113. In an effort to run a designed play to get the best three-point look possible, Powell would launch the ball down the floor with 4.6 seconds on the clock, a pass that was stolen, then bobbled and lost by Pelicans forward Karlo Matković.
This gave Michael Porter Jr. a wide-open heave from roughly 40 feet out to send the game to overtime, but his long shot bounced off of the backboard, ending the game.
When questioned about his decision on calling the final play of the game, Fernandez explained that other factors from the contest led to the Nets' downfall while appearing satisfied with the last shot from Porter Jr.
"I think that play doesn't matter," Fernandez said.
"I think what really matters is the 33 second chance points. We still got a three up on a length-of-the-floor play that we run and we know. Because whenever you run out of timeouts you have to have something that everybody knows."
The execution of that final play of the game might have been a little bit sloppy, but the end result was the Nets' best player taking a shot without a defender in sight. In Fernandez' book, that's what they'd like to see in that situation 10 times out of 10.
Join the Community! Don't miss out on our NETS ROUNDTABLE community and the latest news! It's completely free to join. Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members.
Download the free Roundtable APP, and stay even more connected.