Nets player grades after 91-65 win over Knicks in LVSL

LAS VEGAS — The Brooklyn Nets (1-0) played well during their time in Sacramento as several players on the team stepped up during the California Classic. Brooklyn played their first game of the Las Vegas Summer League on Friday against the defending champion New York Knicks (0-1) and the Nets took care of business thanks to some familiar contributors.

The Nets beat the Knicks 91-65 after putting on a display of dominance in the third quarter to the tune of a 30-9 extended run to blow the game wide open. Egor Demin had 20 points and three rebounds while Mikel Brown Jr., the No. 6 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, had 20 points and three assists in his 22 minutes of playing time on the floor.

The Knicks struggled shooting the ball as a team, but forward Pacome Dadiet had 20 points and seven rebounds while Tyler Nickel had 18 points and four rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench. The Nets were hoping to see Demin and Brown play well, but center Chaney Johnson continues to impress as he finished this game with 11 points, nine rebounds, and four steals.

Here are the Nets player grades following Friday’s win over the Knicks:

Brown had a slow start to this game as he was trying to find his rhythm between creating opportunities for himself and creating shots for his teammates. Brown appeared to find his groove in the second half as he started to dance more with the ball in his hands and he still finished with an efficient shooting performance all over the floor while racking up two steals and one block on the defensive end.

Powell had another tough game on the offensive end of the floor as he couldn’t find his rhythm at all with his game, especially as he tried to get to the rim more often than he did in Sacramento. Powell did a solid job of rebounding the basketball and playing defense, but his offensive game continues to be nonexistent and the hope is that he can break out of that before the team leaves Las Vegas.

Demin played so well in the California Classic that there were some around the league that believed that he had nothing else to show in summer league and those pundits could be right. Demin once again struggled with his three-point shooting, but he did a great job of driving to the rim and he made his impact on the defensive end as well with the way that he moved his feet throughout the game.

Wolf played for the first time during this summer circuit and he played well despite dealing with an ankle injury that cost him some development time during the offseason. Wolf wasn’t particularly efficient on the offensive end, but he was able to get to some of his spots on the floor and more to the point, he rebounded well and put forth some nice passes to boot.

Most of the players on the Nets roster have had plenty of nice things to say about Johnson and it’s easy to see why because of how hard he plays and how he plays bigger than his size would indicate. Johnson did a great job of scoring all over the floor while being all over the glass and seemingly guarding multiple players at once with how many steals and blocks he complied.

Bilodeau did not make much of an impact on the offensive end of the floor in this one as he didn’t get many good looks at the basket given how tightly New York was guarding him. Bilodeau was solid on the defensive end and did his part in the rebounding phase of the game, but he has had better days shooting the ball, especially when he gets more looks.

Dainja is basically a microwave scorer as a big as he seemingly scores as soon as he enters the game and he always puts himself in the right place for rebounds. Dainja did a great job of holding his own on the defensive end of the floor, especially at the rim, without picking too many fouls.

Saraf has been up and down throughout this summer circuit, but he was solid in this game despite not having great rhythm with his shot. Saraf still has to work on having a more consistent jumpshot, but his ability to get to the rim can still open up opportunities for him if he can get clean looks at the basket.

Humrichous did what he has been doing since the beginning and that’s making three-pointers with amazing efficiency, whether he’s open or not. Not only that, but Humrichous also was all over the glass during his time on the floor and plenty of scouts are noticing his ability to play hard and make shots.

This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets player grades after 91-65 win over Knicks in LVSL