The Brooklyn Nets took a massive beatdown to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Which also saw the rookie break his silence about shutting down for the rest of the season.
The Brooklyn Nets faced the defending NBA Finals champions undermanned. There was no Michael Porter Jr., Day'Ron Sharpe, Egor Demin then ultimately Noah Clowney against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
OKC entered as a massive 19.5-point favorite. The Thunder surpassed the spread in the 121-92 trouncing inside the Barclays Center.
But the conversation shifted to the rookie before the loss. Demin finally broke his silence about being shut down for the rest of the season. He shared via Erik Slater of ClutchPoints that his foot surgery became a success.
"Everything went well,” Demin said to Slater. “Now it’s just the process of rehab and getting back on the court as soon as the season ends, as we planned, and hopefully everything’s going to go in the right direction, and I’ll be able to get back to work as soon as I can."
Demin will eye the NBA's Summer League to regain his footing.
"After the many games I’ve played this season, it’s been pretty weird just to wake up and have my own kind of routine and a little bit of a deeper routine than normally. But at the same time, it was pretty much the same. I’m still around the team every practice, game, walkthrough and shootaround," Demin said.
Demin didn't dive into what the non-surgical part of his rehab was like.
“I don’t think that's something that we’re trying to focus on right now. The details aren’t the important part,” he explained. “The important part is what’s following that and how we get my recovery [going] the best way possible for me to get back on the court as soon as I can.”
Brooklyn obviously could've used his shooting. Clowney managed to tie the game up at 2-2 off his 10-foot jump shot. But that became the only tie of the game.
OKC at one point led by 42 points before letting the foot off the gas pedal briefly. But still, the Thunder's shooting and depth overwhelmed a depleted Brooklyn team. OKC even held Brooklyn to 11 and 13 points in the first and second quarter, respectively.
Jalen Wilson led with 15 points. Nolan Traore led the starters by scoring 13. Chaney Johnson added 12 while Ochai Agbaji added 10.
Ben Saraf became a last minute scratch. The rookie is dealing with left foot soreness from the Portland Trail Blazers loss.
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