LAS VEGAS — Egor Demin and Danny Wolf had their most impactful games so far in the summer league. It’s no coincidence the Nets got their first victory, a 94-90 escape against Orlando.
They escaped because Wolf helped the Nets build a 23-point lead, and — after they frittered it away to just one — Demin closed it out with three huge 3-pointers in the final 2:37 to seal the win.
“Just happy for him. Those were big shots. He stepped in, took them and made them,” said Nets assistant Steve Hetzel, who is coaching summer league. “He probably felt a sense of relief. This is what he’s been trying to show everybody, how good of a player he is.
“We asked the guys to just play one full clean game, and I thought we did three quarters. And then obviously the 39 points in the fourth was kind of a mess.”
A hot mess.
Behind Wolf (18 points, six rebounds, four assists), the Nets built a 23-point cushion.
They still led 77-62 before they allowed a 16-2 run to see it shrink to 79-78 with 2:37 left.
That’s when Demin — who had 14 points, five rebounds and shot 4-of-8 from deep — shook off early struggles and six turnovers to hit three 3-pointers down the stretch.
The Russian calmly drilled the first from the left corner to stem the tide and made it 82-78 with 2:36 left.
Then he hit a transition heat check, and finally a dagger to pad it to 91-83 with 33 seconds to play. The Nets saw it out from there.
“Yeah, it’s exciting,” said Demin. “It’s cool. After a couple of turnovers in the row I got a little frustrated. Playing off the ball, I got a couple of catch-and-shoots and one in transition. Exciting for me that they want in.”
“Our turnovers and some of the mistakes earlier on caused this comeback. Now it’s almost like, OK, how can I prove, right? How can I get it back? That was because in theory it was because of me, right? Part of it was mine, part of it was Danny. And we wanted to get it back.”
Demin has largely played well on both ends in summer league action, but has been on the wing in few pick-and-rolls, and hasn’t penetrated. But he had arguably his favorite dunk with a strong drive in the first quarter.
Wolf on the other hand had to shake off struggles.
He’d admittedly gotten sped up and came in averaging just six points on 27.3 percent shooting.
But starting at center for the first time with Drew Timme sitting (along with Ben Saraf and Nolan Traoré), Wolf benefitted from better spacing.
And slowing himself down.
“I was just a little bit too sped up,” Wolf said. “I just went into this game with just a more relaxed mindset, just let the game come to me a little bit better and do what I do best and just play a little bit slower. And I think I did that to the best of my ability.”
