The Nets played their best defensive game of the season. But going from guarding for a quarter to guarding for two still wasn’t good enough for their first victory.

Brooklyn erased a double-digit deficit late and had a chance to tie Wednesday night before falling 117-112 to the Hawks before a sellout crowd of 17,548 at Barclays Center.

“We had a way better second half,” said coach Jordi Fernández. “You give yourself a chance, and we were very close to a tip-in or lay-in and still have a two-for-one and have a chance to win. So, didn’t go our way at the end, but those are positive steps.”

Dyson Daniels defends against Cam Thomas during the first half of the Nets’ 117-112 loss to the Hawks on Oct. 29, 2025. Robert Sabo for NY Post

Struggling Nic Claxton had his best game of the season with 18 points, a dozen rebounds and his first block, but the center missed a pair of point-blank looks late. And in the end, the Nets stayed winless as they fell to 0-5.

“We were just more conscious about our energy throughout the game,” said Claxton. “We still ended up getting down double digits. That’s something we got to do a better job of because trying to come back, it just takes so much energy. You really just got to play a perfect game. So we’ve just got to keep chopping.”

The Nets trailed 113-103 with 4:12 left after a Nickeil Alexander-Walker 3-pointer before a final rally fell short. With Hawks star Trae Young having to leave the game with a knee injury, the Nets went to a switching defense and it almost helped them steal their first victory. Almost.

Michael Porter Jr. (game-high 32 points, nine boards) sank a pair of free throws to pull the Nets to within 115-112 with 1:28 remaining. And they had a last chance, but couldn’t cash in on it.

Cam Thomas (19 points, 6-of-20 shooting) drove and passed to Claxton in the paint. But the center missed a point-blank look from just 3 feet out with :29.2 left. He rebounded his own miss, but couldn’t convert the putback.

Dyson Daniels snatched the rebound for Atlanta, and ended the comeback bid.

Jalen Wilson chases a loose ball during the first half of the Nets’ loss to the Hawks on Oct. 29, 2025 at Barclays Center. Robert Sabo for NY Post

“Just a hook. That’s just basketball, man. Sometimes you miss easy shots, and in crucial times of the game. This is a part of the game. I can’t dwell on this so much,” said Claxton, adding the Nets still have plenty of work to do defensively.

“We’ve got a lot of stuff to clean up: transition defense, pick-and-roll defense. Our defense altogether was astronomically bad. So we got a lot of stuff to work on.”

After coming out of the gate by scoring the game’s first dozen points, the Nets saw that momentum flip the game just as quickly. They coughed up an extended 39-15 run to turn a 12-point lead into a dozen-point deficit.

“We’re digging ourselves really big holes. We’ve got to be a mature enough team to not let a 6- or 8-point run turn into a 20-4 run,” said Porter. “We’ve got to learn how to stop the bleeding, get into a set, get some good shots up. If we can limit those big runs, we’re going to be in more games. But right now it’s tough. We’re (fighting hard) in spurts, where we start to feel desperate. It’s the fourth quarter, we start to really turn up the intensity. In the NBA, that has to be there for four quarters, especially when you have a team that’s built like ours.”

Nic Claxton puts up a shot during the Nets’ loss to the Hawks. Robert Sabo for NY Post

The Nets’ deficit swelled to 58-41 on Kristaps Porzingis’ 3-pointer with 3:24 left in the first half.

Fernández went away from blitzing and hedging on pick-and-rolls and tried switching one-through-five, a style akin to how predecessor Jacque Vaughn played, and one that suits Claxton’s strengths.

It nearly worked.

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Thank you

“Yeah, we did it (Wednesday) and I think the guys did a great job. So, being able to execute different coverages is good,” said Fernández. “Going forward, I’m not saying what I’m gonna do, but obviously I’m happy with what they did.

“And I think it’s good to see, it’s good to see the guys communicate because the best coverage is the one that everybody believes in, and when everybody plays hard, I think for anything works, and that’s the number one rule, that’s what we need to learn from everybody.”

Young checked out with 1:52 left in the first and didn’t return.