Nets teen Egor Dëmin made his Utah homecoming a winning one Friday night.
The lottery pick — who played in-state at BYU — had the best night of his impressive rookie season, leading the Nets to a 109-99 win over the Jazz before a sellout crowd of 18,186 at Delta Center to snap a league-worst seven-game losing skid.
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The Nets had been winless on the tail end of back-to-backs, and 0-8 without Michael Porter Jr. But Dëmin stepped into the breach with 25 points, 10 rebounds — career highs — and four assists.
Egor Dëmin, who scored 25 points, steps back to shoot during the Nets’ 109-99 win over the Jazz on Jan. 30, 2026 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Rob Gray-Imagn Images
He even drove the lane for a dunk and went 6-for-12 from deep, his 34th straight game with a 3, an NBA rookie record.
Dëmin, Wolf and Nolan Traore scored the last 14 points for the Nets to close out the victory.
“It means a lot,” said Dëmin in an on-court interview. “It’s the first second game of a back-to-back we’ve won, the first [win] without Mike. He’s a big, big, big part of our team, but we’ve got to be able to function without him, too. So that win means a lot, especially for me being back home I can say so. It’s pretty fun.”
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Brooklyn snapped a league-worst seven-game losing skid, and youth led the way with Dëmin, Traore and Danny Wolf all in the lineup.
It was the first time the Nets started three rookies since Dec. 18, 2021, and the first time five rookies scored since March 23, 1991.
Wolf had 14 points and five boards, while the speedy Traore added seven points, six assists and downhill play. He blew to the basket for a late and-one that saw Keyonte George (26 points) injured on the play.
Danny Wolf looks to make a pass around Brice Sensabaugh during the second half of the Nets’ win over the Jazz. Rob Gray-Imagn Images
“We needed a win,” Wolf said.
Cam Thomas scored 21 off the bench, while Day’Ron Sharpe added 16 points and nine rebounds as the Nets hammered undersized Utah 47-33 on the glass.
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Lauri Markkanen and Jusuf Nurkic were out for the Jazz, who’ve lost nine of 10. But the Nets won’t feel sorry in the least.
“It feels great to snap the losing streak,” Sharpe said. “Nobody likes losing.”
Egor Dëmin shoots over Svi Mykhailiuk during the first half of the Nets’ road win over the Jazz. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
It was knotted at 83-all after an Ace Bailey score to open the fourth, but Brooklyn reeled off an 8-0 run. Thomas found Jalen Wilson for a corner 3 and a 91-83 lead they never surrendered.
A couple of late Demin 3s padded it to double digits at 100-90.
“Ever since he got here in the summer he’s gotten better every day. You see the confidence growing on him and I feel like the sky’s the limit for him,” Sharpe said. “He’s proven the doubters wrong, and I hope he just continues to do that.”
The Nets (13-34) are now fifth in the lottery race, a game behind Washington and one ahead of Utah.