Despite turnovers and rebounding woes, Nets coach Fernandez lauded his team's tenacious defense, holding the Hawks to low shooting percentages.
It's not often that an NBA team suffers defeat after holding their opponent to 39.3% shooting from the field and 30% accuracy from three-point range, but the Brooklyn Nets found a way.
The Atlanta Hawks took a 108-97 victory over the Nets at home on Thursday night to claim their 8th straight win, but Brooklyn made the upstart group earn every bucket.
However, the Nets' unfortunate 20-turnover performance leading to 29 points off turnovers kept Atlanta in control for most of the evening. First-time All-Star Jalen Johnson (21 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (18 points, 3 steals) led the way for the Hawks in the takeaway department.
Though the Nets weren't able to maintain control on their offensive possessions, head coach Jordi Fernández expressed his delight with the squad's never-say-die attitude on defense during his post-game interview.
"When you hold a team to 39% from the field and 30 (percent) from three, you give yourself a chance," Fernandez shared Thursday night.
"I'm very proud of the whole group, the way they competed (and) in how connected they were the whole time. A lot of good things..."
Brooklyn gave themselves plenty of chances throughout the night with their fantastic communication and timely switching, but turnovers were not the only key factor that played a role in the loss.
Atlanta won the rebounding battle 51-39 and the offensive rebounding battle 17-4, taking complete advantage of the Nets' lack of frontcourt help.
The Hawks picked the perfect opponent to showcase their hustle on the offensive glass against, as it was the Nets' first game without their stellar offensive rebounder Day'Ron Sharpe since his season-ending UCL injury announcement.
Through 62 games this season, Sharpe ranked No. 17 in the NBA with an average of 2.8 offensive rebounds despite playing just 18.7 minutes.
The Hawks' former No. 1 overall pick from the 2024 NBA Draft Zaccharie Risacher shined on the offensive glass, with 7 of his 9 total rebounds coming on that end.
This led to Atlanta also claiming victory in the second-chance points battle 22-4, but Fernández will likely give this one somewhat of a pass with the team missing as many important rebounders as they were.
In Fernández's review of the Nets' defensive effort, he also gave a special shout-out to two-way forward Chaney Johnson, who helped set the tone on that side of the ball alongside the star of the night Josh Minott (24 points, 3 steals, 3 blocks).
"Chaney I thought, defensively, was awesome," Fernández added post-game.
"We had a group that was very physical right there... He belongs physically. Great athlete, and his intentions are great. He's going to do everything you ask him to do."
The 23-year-old chipped in 4 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal in his 20 minutes of work.
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