Two years ago, San Antonio was the worst team in the West.
Today they are the most popular team in the NBA.
Brooklyn had to take hope from that, while the Spurs dove over them.
The tanking Nets’ 126-110 loss to San Antonio Thursday before a sellout crowd of 17,548 at Barclays Center put them one step closer to the kind of star potential they need for a turnaround.
Victor Wembanyama had 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks and dominated on defense.
Julian Champagnie added a game-high 26 points for the loaded Spurs, who put seven scorers in double figures before the end of the third quarter and cruised past Brooklyn.
Michael Porter Jr. led the Nets with 25 points and 14 boards – both team highs. But they were down by as many as 26 and were not at San Antonio’s level.
Or even the level below that.
“Winning is important and competing for matches is extremely important,” said Jordi Fernández. “The record is what it is – we’re very aware of it and we don’t like it. But the players show up every day and work.”
“It’s important to come here and feel like we can compete against anyone. If you’re 10 up, you want 20. If you’re 20 down, you want to be 10 behind. We have to be competitive and understand that this is a process.”
The process is about getting the best lottery odds in a generational draw.
Brooklyn (15-43) is third in the lottery standings, three games behind first-place Sacramento (pending the Kings’ tilt vs. Dallas) and one game behind Indiana.
The Nets coughed up a 17-4 run that lasted from the end of the first quarter, two minutes into the second. After that they were never challenged again.
Danny Wolf had 14 points off the bench, while lottery pick Egor Demin dished out a career-high nine assists, while fellow rookie Nolan Traore added 13 points.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson – a former assistant who inherited the reins from Gregg Popovich last season – has seen the process of grooming young talent firsthand. But five at a time is unprecedented.
“It’s a challenge. It’s hard to ask a 19-year-old to help another 19-year-old. It’s like asking a bunch of kids just learning to swim to make sure the other one doesn’t drown,” Johnson said. “So you have to take a step back sometimes, give grace and be patient, because they are learning what it takes to survive in this league, which is a lot; and you have several young players trying to do that.
“But it’s also very satisfying when you have the character and good young players, guys who play hard. And Jordi has done a great job and you see the competition.”
The Nets had a clean injury report, with Josh Minott making his debut after reaching the trade deadline.
Within five minutes he was goalless.
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