Nets G Dëmin Makes Emphatic Return in 34-Point Victory

The Brooklyn Nets rolled to a 34-point victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday night, posting their most impressive performance of the season.

The Nets were without their top rookie, Mikel Brown Jr., who was out due to illness, but second-year guard Egor Dëmin made his highly-anticipated return to the starting lineup after missing the last six games with a bone bruise.

Dëmin made an instant-impact, tying Michael Porter Jr. with a team-high 22 points, shooting 5-for-8 from the field and getting to the free-throw line for eight makes.

After falling behind 4-0 early, Dëmin got a friendly roll from a 3-pointer on the right wing, opening up the scoring for the Nets.

It was a very promising performance from Brooklyn's top pick from the 2025 NBA Draft, who had struggled from the field before going down with injury.

Entering the road affair with the Pelicans, Dëmin was averaging just 7.8 points per game on 31% shooting in his first four outings.

Outside of the Nets' four-point loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dëmin had scored less than five points in three of four appearances, while shooting just 6-for-21 from distance.

He found his groove from distance against New Orleans, however, knocking down four triples, and looking comfortable from the perimeter.

The Nets ran multiple sets for Dëmin to run off of, where he confidently stepped into multiple open 3-pointers, making the Pelicans' defense pay for lazy rotations.

In the former BYU standout's rookie campaign, Dëmin's consistency from 3-point range was a bright surprise, upping his 27.3% mark in college to a Nets-rookie record 38.5% clip.

His highest 3-point output came in late December against the Golden State Warriors, exploding for seven makes from distance, setting another Nets rookie record.

One week later, Dëmin caught fire trailing against the Orlando Magic, making five 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and overtime to lead a storming comeback.

As the season unfolds, head coach Jordi Fernández will need Dëmin to play a big role in the Brooklyn backcourt, especially as Brown gets healthier and prepares to enter the starting lineup.

Sitting at 3-8, the Nets are looking to carry over the offensive success against New Orleans into their next matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies.

After a hot start to the year, the Grizzlies have dropped four of their last five games, but remain a dangerous team.

Brooklyn hits the road to face Memphis at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday.