Egor Dëmin follows a 4-point opener with 22 in Cleveland, and wants more minutes next to Mikel Brown Jr.

Egor Dëmin turned a rough NBA season debut into a 22-point night on Saturday, October 24, scoring 15 of them in the fourth quarter as the Brooklyn Nets cut a 22-point deficit to two in Cleveland before losing 125-121. Brooklyn is 0-2, but its second-year guard looked like a different player from the one who opened the season.

On Wednesday against Charlotte, Dëmin scored 4 points on 2-of-10 shooting and called his own game not very good afterward. In Cleveland every one of his five field goals came from three-point range, on 10 attempts, and he made all seven of his free throws. He added 6 assists and 4 rebounds with a single turnover in 30 minutes and 51 seconds, and Brooklyn was 7 points better than the Cavaliers with him on the floor.

3GOR D3MIN

three triples in a row!! pic.twitter.com/qydLQZscnh

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) October 25, 2026

Three threes in 47 seconds

The turn came midway through the fourth. Dëmin checked in with 8:18 left and the Nets down 18, joining rookie Mikel Brown Jr. for their first regular-season minutes together. A Brown steal set up a Dëmin three in transition, and two more followed within 47 seconds, one off the dribble, to pull Brooklyn within 11. The Nets scored 43 points in the quarter to Cleveland’s 29.

Dëmin said the first make changed the mood of the whole group, because it showed the team “there are actually ways to score.” Michael Porter Jr. led Brooklyn with 28 points and Julius Randle added 23, while Donovan Mitchell had 22 for Cleveland.

A pairing worth more time

Dëmin and Brown shared only three minutes and 36 seconds, and Brooklyn won that stretch 11-6 before Brown sat with 4:42 left. Brown, still on a minutes plan after spraining his left ankle before camp, finished with 8 points and 5 assists in 20 minutes. Dëmin made clear he wants that partnership to grow. “I can’t wait to spend more time with him on the court,” he said of the No. 6 pick.

Coach Jordi Fernández said the pairing was not planned. He kept Brown out there because of his shooting and energy, and said matchups and foul trouble, not a preset rotation, will decide when the two guards play together.

What comes next

The Nets host the Indiana Pacers on Sunday, October 25, at 6:00 p.m. ET at Barclays Center, without Brown, who is resting the second night of the back-to-back. Follow it in the Game Center, and find Saturday’s full box score here.