Nets’ late rally falls short in 125-121 loss to Cavaliers

Well, that turned out to be much more interesting than anyone expected — especially entering the fourth.

For most of Saturday night’s matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Brooklyn Nets looked headed for an ugly blowout. But thanks to an explosive fourth-quarter comeback led by Egor Dëmin, Brooklyn nearly pulled off an improbable win before falling, 125-121.

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Dëmin erupted for 15 points in the final frame, and the highlight of the night was between himself and Mikel Brown Jr. The two combined for five fourth-quarter threes and the Nets cut a 22-point deficit to just four with 26.4 seconds remaining.

It wasn’t enough to secure the win, but for a young team like the Nets, there was a lot to like about the fight they showed against one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference. It showcased the “Brooklyn Grit” that’s commonly talked about.

What changed?

“I think it was the shot quality. We went from taking 35 good shots in the first half to almost 50 in the second… when you take the high-quality shots is when, you know, they don’t all go in at the same time, but then if you keep shooting them, we had that stretch that they kept going in,” Jordi Fernandez said after the game.

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And early on, there was plenty to like about the offense, too.

Julius Randle picked up right where he left off in his dominant Nets debut on Wednesday night, scoring six points on two-of-three shooting in his first five minutes. He continues to look like a valuable veteran for Brooklyn, not only for his scoring ability, but for his all-around contributions too.

Michael Porter Jr. also delivered another strong outing, but this time from start to finish. He struggled in the first half last game and upped the ante in the second frame, finishing with 28 points on 10-of-18 shooting.

The Nets trailed by five points, 35-30. But while Brooklyn was finding ways to generate offense, they shot just 10-of-27 from the field (37%) in the opening quarter, compared to Cleveland’s 11-of-21 (52.4%).

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The good news? The Nets were doing a much better job on the glass than they did on Wednesday night, coming down with…

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Publish date : 2026-10-25 03:07:00

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