After the Brooklyn Nets’ lopsided loss to the Orlando Magic last Friday, head coach Jordi Fernandez addressed his team’s shortcomings.

“We were like a step slow with our physicality, a step slow with our rotations, with our communication, and you pay for that,” Fernández said. “We were there at halftime and just couldn’t keep up.”

In the 100:92 loss on Sunday afternoon, the Nets corrected almost every criticism of their leader.

The “Brooklyn grit” was on full display from the opening tip. Led by Ziaire Williams, Orlando was forced into turnover after turnover, resulting in slight offense on the other end.

After being annihilated by Franz Wagner in the previous contest, the Nets held the rising star to just nine points in the first half. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was limited to just three players, but Goga Bitadze and Jalen Suggs benefited by being pushed into larger offensive roles.

Luckily for Brooklyn, Cam Johnson and Trendon Watford made up for Dennis Schröder’s early, lackluster return. The duo combined for 25 points in the first two frames, but a running exchange late in the second quarter resulted in an even score at the halftime siren.

But the teams wouldn’t stick together for long. As Caldwell-Pope began to find his stroke, the Magic orchestrated a 10-2 run out of halftime to take their largest lead to date. While the Nets responded, thanks largely to Johnson’s continued offensive excellence, they never cut Orlando’s lead below four.

With Ben Simmons and Jalen Wilson each allowing five fouls, Brooklyn found itself even more shorthanded due to injuries. The officiating team committed a total of 60 fouls throughout regulation time, which slowed the pace and prevented the Nets from finding their pace.

Schröder, who now has a reputation as “Mr. Fourth Quarter” started the final frame much better than the previous three. He hit a baseline jumper, a lay-in and a step-back three-pointer to put Brooklyn ahead by one point, but it wouldn’t last.

Brooklyn added Simmons and Williams, both of whom were dealing with knee problems, to its already extensive list of setbacks, further compounding the team’s challenges.

But the host’s injury-related performance didn’t end there. With less than a minute to play, Johnson appeared to suffer a hamstring strain, but remained in the contest despite obvious pain.

His tenacity, while admirable, had no bearing on the final result.

The Nets showed much more fight than in Friday’s loss, but ultimately suffered the same result. For the third time this season and second time in as many days, the Magic defeated their Atlantic Division counterpart.

At 9-12, Brooklyn travels to Chicago tomorrow to face the Bulls and try to bounce back from a disappointing weekend in Orlando.

To access the final box score of the Brooklyn Nets’ loss to the Orlando Magic, Click here.

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