Fernández ails as Nets bully Bucks

Rookie Egor Dëmin bounced back from a rough game in Dallas to lead the Nets to their largest margin of victory in the Brooklyn era on Saturday. AP Photo by Heather Khalifa

Despite battling the flu, Jordi Fernández had to love the view.

Rookie Egor Dëmin paced nine Brooklyn players in double figures with 17 points as the Nets matched the largest margin of victory in franchise history with a 127-82 rout of the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday in front of 16,439 fans at the Barclays Center.

Fernández wasn’t at his usual post along the Brooklyn bench just two days after the Nets (7-18) suffered a tough loss in Dallas despite Michael Porter Jr.’s 34 points.

The second-year coach confirmed that he was a no-go before tip-off, leaving top assistant Steve Hetzel to guide Brooklyn to its fourth win in six contests.

“Normally, (Porter) has been carrying us offensively, and then you see how spread out the points are amongst the group,” Hetzel gushed. “I don’t think anybody that stepped on the court played poorly. Complete team effort, totally focused.”

Noah Clowney scored 16 points, Tyrese Martin finished with 14 off the bench, first-rounder Drake Powell had 13, Porter and Terance Mann added 12 apiece and Nic Claxton and Day’Ron Sharpe each contributed 10 to Brooklyn’s blowout win.

It was the Nets’ largest margin of victory since they rolled over the Washington Wizards by 45 on Jan. 9, 1993, when the team was still based in New Jersey.

Brooklyn also matched its record for most players scoring in double digits, established in 1984 vs. Cleveland and last achieved here at Barclays on Dec. 21, 2022, against Golden State.

Though he couldn’t experience it in person, Fernández wasn’t far from anyone’s mind after the Nets won all four quarters, something the 42-year-old Badalona native has been seeking since the year began with seven straight losses and a 1-11 nadir.

“It feels good … we’re all an extension of Jordi, and everything that he’s done,” Hetzel ceded after receiving a cold-water bath from his team in the locker room for capturing his first win as an NBA coach.

“The way they played in his absence just shows how much they care about playing for him,” Hetzel added.

Fill-in assistant Steve Hetzel guided the Nets to a historic lopsided win while head coach Jordi Fernández tried to recover from the flu. AP Photo by Heather Khalifa

The youngest team in the NBA proved it could not only behave, but thrive with a babysitter for one game.

Dëmin, the eighth overall pick in this year’s draft and the first of a record five-player, first-round haul for Brooklyn, went 6-of-8 from the floor, 2-for-4 from beyond the arc and 3-for-3 at the free-throw line.

The 19-year-old Russian forward also grabbed three boards, handed out three assists, picked up two steals and blocked a shot in 26 scintillating minutes.

Dëmin got the party started during Brooklyn’s 37-point, opening-quarter outburst.

He drained a 26-footer to open the scoring before finishing the period with nine points as the Nets ran out to a 12-point lead and never looked back in a contest they never trailed.

The 6-foot-8 Brigham Young University product admitted that he wasn’t used to losses piling up, either during his collegiate or international career.

“I mean, I didn’t have many lost games in my life,” Dëmin admitted.

“You know, coming from Moscow to Spain, there were a couple of big ones, but in general, I’ve been in a really winning team,” he added. “It’s always been kind of hurting when we’re losing some big games, or whatever it is.”

The Bucks (11-16), still waiting for Giannis Antetokounmpo to return from a calf injury, lost for the third time in four games without their superstar center despite 20 points from Gary Trent Jr.

Clowney and Martin each drilled four 3-pointers on a night the Nets shot a blistering 44% (19-for-43) from long range and 53% overall to avenge a 116-99 loss to Antetokounmpo and the Bucks in Milwaukee on Nov. 29.

Brooklyn won the rebounding battle, 43-37, and scored 30 points off 20 Milwaukee turnovers.

Even if he couldn’t celebrate with his players, Fernández must have relished looking over the final box following Brooklyn’s most complete win since the franchise relocated here in 2012.

Fernández expects to be back on the bench Thursday night, when the Nets resume this three-game homestand vs. Miami.

For now, however, Hetzel will enjoy being 1-0 as Nets coach for a few more days.

“It’s awesome just to be a part of this group,” he said. “Jordi and I are like brothers, or I view him like a brother. When he asked me to come work for him, I said, ‘Absolutely.’

“But this win is more of a reflection of everything that everybody on the staff does, and it’s fun to win. It’s fun to play well. I’m glad that we got it for Jordi.”

Tip-off vs. the Heat is slated for 7:30 p.m.

The game will air locally on the YES Network.

Danny Wolf had a tough shooting night vs. the Bucks despite watching the rest of the Nets bury more than half their attempts. AP Photo by Heather Khalifa

NOTHING BUT NET: One player who didn’t get to reap the benefits of Sunday’s historic win was rookie Danny Wolf. The versatile pivot man put up eight points off the bench, but went 3-of-12 from the floor, including 0-for-7 from 3-point range. … Hetzel gave a medical update on Fernández before the game. “He’s doing well,” the fill-in coach revealed. “He calls himself a specimen. He tested positive for the flu, but he has no fever. So he feels good. I talked to him this morning. I saw him, he was in here. He was in good spirits, but I think it was best for him to just get some rest.” … Rookie Ben Saraf also sat out Saturday’s game with an undisclosed illness. … After hosting Miami on Thursday, the Nets will wrap up the homestand on Sunday vs. Toronto.