Nets' HC Presented With Game Ball After 'Fun' Home Opener Victory

Brooklyn's players showered their coach with applause after routing the Bucks.

Oct 27, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez yells out instructions in the first quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Against one of the best teams the NBA has to offer, Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez secured his first win as the franchise's lead man.

The 115-102 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks snapped the Nets' two-game losing streak and provided optimism following a difficult start to the 2024-25 campaign.

After the Barclays Center home opener, Fernandez was presented the game ball from Brooklyn's Nic Claxton while getting an entire cooler of what looked to be water dumped on his head in celebratory fashion.

the video is pretty good too 😂 https://t.co/UAPHXzJnc1 pic.twitter.com/IBuUamWBCC

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) October 28, 2024

Postgame, the 41-year-old offered Brian Lewis of the New York Post insight on the celebration.

"It was fun. Wet. So just very happy for the guys," Fernandez said via Lewis' X account. "I think we took those steps forward where it's not that we only play the 1st half, we also played in the 2nd half. So that was our goal, sustained effort."

In the Nets' losing efforts to the Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic, both contests were tightly contested until the very end. Late-second-half struggles doomed Brooklyn and ultimately resulted in a 0-2 start, but Sunday evening was different. Fernandez's crew put together a complete 48-minute performance, upsetting a tough conference foe and tallying a much-needed win.

Dennis Schröder and Cam Thomas combined for 61 points, nearly half of the Nets' total. The scoring outbursts have almost become expected out of Thomas, but the explosion from Schröder was a welcomed surprise.

"He's done it in winning teams, he's done international basketball. He's he's done it here again," Fernandez said, again via Lewis. "So toughness, leadership, coach on the floor, everything. Obviously, he made shots, made sure he was very efficient."

With the first one under its belt, Brooklyn has a second-straight home matchup on Oct. 29 against the Denver Nuggets at 7:30 p.m. EST.

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