{"id":538627,"date":"2026-01-15T16:05:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T16:05:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/538627\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T16:05:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T16:05:17","slug":"nets-lose-fifth-straight-to-pelicans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/538627\/","title":{"rendered":"Nets lose fifth straight to Pelicans"},"content":{"rendered":"

New Orleans guard Saddiq Bey throws down the go-ahead basket Wednesday night as the league-worst Pelicans handed the slumping Nets their fifth straight loss. AP Photo by Gerald Herbert\n<\/p>\n

Jordi Fern\u00e1ndez got the fast start he wanted from his slumping team in New Orleans on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

However, Brooklyn\u2019s second-year coach had to watch as the Nets failed down the stretch against the team with the NBA\u2019s worst record.<\/p>\n

Trey Murphy III scored a game-high 34 points and Saddiq Bey put up seven of the Pelicans\u2019 final nine as Brooklyn suffered its fifth consecutive loss, a 116-113 defeat in front of 16,201 fans at the Smoothie King Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem is right now, our focus and our intentions are not there, and that\u2019s something that I gotta help them better, and there\u2019s different ways you can do it, obviously,\u201d fumed Fern\u00e1ndez.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we\u2019re trying \u2026 to find 10 guys in a rotation that care about rebounding, that care about bull pressure, they care about doing the right things, and then if you make mistakes, we can live with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Nets (11-27) were flirting with getting back into Eastern Conference play-in contention before this recent slide, their longest since opening the year with seven consecutive losses.<\/p>\n

Coming off Monday night\u2019s loss in Dallas, which saw Brooklyn fall behind by nine following the first quarter and fail to reel the Mavericks in thereafter, Fern\u00e1ndez\u2019s squad opened a 12-point lead in the second quarter of the finale of this road trip in the Crescent City.<\/p>\n

Only to allow the struggling Pelicans (10-33) to shave that deficit to one at intermission before the teams engaged in a back-and-forth affair that went down to the buzzer.<\/p>\n

Murphy, who also ripped down nine rebounds, went 12-of-22 from the floor, including a quintet of 3-pointers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Zion Williamson added 22 points on 11-of-14 shooting, but neither was as impactful as Bey in the final stages.<\/p>\n

After Brooklyn rookie Egor D\u0451min snapped a 107-107 tie with 1:28 to play on his fifth 3-ball of the night, Bey struck back.<\/p>\n

He beat the shot clock and the Nets\u2019 defense with an off-balance 26-footer and added a thunderous driving dunk off Murphy\u2019s miss to give the Pelicans, losers of 11 of their previous 12 contests, a 112-110 lead with 21 ticks showing on the clock.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were more physical, and they fought (for) those boards, and they beat us,\u201d Fern\u00e1ndez ceded.<\/p>\n

Michael Porter Jr. tried to answer with a 3-pointer from the corner that bounded off the glass and fell into the hands of Murphy with 10.6 seconds left.<\/p>\n

\"BrooklynMichael Porter Jr. paced six Nets in double figures with 20 points, but Brooklyn dropped its fifth in a row, its longest slide since opening the season 0-7. AP Photo by Gerald Herbert<\/p>\n

Murphy appeared to be falling out of bounds with his own momentum, but Nic Claxton gave him a slight push that resulted in a foul call.<\/p>\n

Fern\u00e1ndez challenged the call to no avail and Murphy hit two free throws on the other end before rookie Drake Powell gave the Nets life with a quick 3-pointer that shaved the deficit to one with 5.8 remaining.<\/p>\n

Claxton fouled Bey, who calmly made two more from the charity stripe, and Porter\u2019s desperation 34-foot heave at the buzzer bounded out to leave Brooklyn to lament what could have been.<\/p>\n

Porter led six Nets in double figures in scoring with 20 points, including four 3-pointers.<\/p>\n

D\u0451min had 17 points, Powell and Cam Thomas added 16 apiece, Day\u2019Ron Sharpe put up 15 and Claxton finished with 10 for Brooklyn, which will head back to Barclays Center on Friday night to open a home-and-home with the Chicago Bulls.<\/p>\n

New Orleans outrebounded the Nets 53-43, including an 18-10 margin off the offensive glass.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The manhandling along the boards resulted in 33 second-chance points for the Pelicans, who became the last team in the Western Conference to reach double digits in wins at Brooklyn\u2019s expense.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, 33 second-chance points. Gotta give them credit because they played harder than us,\u201d noted Fern\u00e1ndez.<\/p>\n

Tip-off at Barclays on Friday is slated for 7:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

The game will air locally on the YES Network.<\/p>\n

***\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"FILELiberty All-Star guard Sabrina Ionescu will sit out the second season of Unrivaled, a 3-on-3 offseason league, due to an undisclosed injury. AP Photo by Darryl Webb<\/p>\n

In other local pro hoops news, Liberty All-Star guard Sabrina Ionescu revealed last week that she will not be competing in Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 offseason league co-founded by teammate Breanna Stewart.<\/p>\n

Ionescu, who was slated to play for Phantom BC, sustained an undisclosed injury during New York\u2019s failed bid at a repeat of its historic 2024 WNBA title in Downtown Brooklyn.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile I\u2019m disappointed I couldn\u2019t play this season, I\u2019ll be rooting for the Phantom,\u201d Ionescu said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to working with Unrivaled through content and broadcast opportunities and continuing to support the league\u2019s success.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Brooklyn
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMounting losses can\u2019t slow down Sharpe<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJanuary 14 |
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJohn Torenli, Sports Editor\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Dallas
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFlagg drives Mavericks past slumping Nets<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJanuary 13 |
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJohn Torenli, Sports Editor\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Orlando
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMagic spoil D\u0451min\u2019s big finish at Barclays<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJanuary 8 |
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJohn Torenli, Sports Editor\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Brooklyn
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThomas accepting bench role in Brooklyn<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJanuary 7 |
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJohn Torenli, Sports Editor\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New Orleans guard Saddiq Bey throws down the go-ahead basket Wednesday night as the league-worst Pelicans handed the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":538628,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3796],"tags":[7,53053,26565,6,671,478,470,4073,4072,675],"class_list":{"0":"post-538627","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-orleans-pelicans","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-jt-torenli","10":"tag-national-basketball-association-nba","11":"tag-nba","12":"tag-nets","13":"tag-new-orleans","14":"tag-new-orleans-pelicans","15":"tag-neworleans","16":"tag-neworleanspelicans","17":"tag-pelicans"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115899972889387546","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=538627"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538627\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/538628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=538627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=538627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=538627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}