Egor Demin Career Night Narrows Gap Between Nets, Jazz

The former BYU guard delivered a series of personal bests and set an NBA record while leading the Nets to their seventh road win of the season.

Jazz guard Keyonte George led all scorers with 26 points, but he exited in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury.

Game Blog: Utah Jazz vs. Brooklyn Nets

Egor Demin Shines in Return to Utah

In his first trip back to the state since declaring for the NBA Draft, Nets rookie Egor Demin impressed a supportive Utah crowd.

The lottery pick posted career highs with 25 points and 10 rebounds, while adding four assists in 29 minutes. It marked his first career double-double and extended his NBA rookie record for consecutive games with a made three (34).

Related: Egor Demin Sets Rookie Record Against Jazz

Demin’s outside shooting has made the biggest leap since his BYU days. After hitting only 27 percent of his 154 college attempts, the Russian rookie is shooting 40 percent from three in the NBA, including six makes against the Jazz.

“A lot of people questioned the shooting,” Nets coach Jordie Fernandez said, “but we believed in it from the beginning.”

Have yourself a career night, Egor!

▪️ Career-high 25 points
▪️ First career double-double
▪️ First Nets rookie with 6+ 3PM in multiple games pic.twitter.com/AmOmscSvVf

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 31, 2026

Asked about the key to his improvement, the 19-year-old kept it simple.

“Shooting the ball, pretty much as simple as it is,” Demin said. “Just being in the gym and shooting the ball.”

Jazz coach Will Hardy praised the guard’s size and volume as a shooter.

“He’s done a good job of reading—sitting in the pocket against the switch,” Hardy said. “The size definitely helps. I’d probably say four of [his threes] are because of his size, but that’s also the part of his game that he’s really hunting.”

Nets coaches say his impact extends beyond scoring.

“His career passing, the way he could see the floor, [his] positional size is important,” Fernandez said. “[His] rebounding, how good he is with his hands, the deflections he gets. Those things translate right away.”

 

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Demin averages 3.4 assists, sixth among NBA rookies, and 0.9 steals, which ranks seventh.

Like most rookies, the former BYU guard still has room to grow, most notably as an interior finisher and defender. But in his first pro game at Delta Center, he showed why he was selected in the lottery.

Jazz Drop Fifth Straight

After beating the Minnesota Timberwolves on January 20 to open their six-game homestand, it briefly looked like the Jazz might collect a few unexpected wins before the mid-February All-Star break, further jeopardizing their top-eight protected first-round pick.

Instead, they lost the final five games of their extended home stay and may have suffered a significant setback along the way.

Will Hardy says X-Rays were negative on Keyonte George’s ankle.

They will let him rest tonight and see how it looks tomorrow. https://t.co/F4exuiRuqz

— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) January 31, 2026

Keyonte George sprained his ankle late in the fourth quarter of the Jazz’s loss to the Nets. X-rays came back clean, but he walked with a pronounced limp after the game.

George said he has had worse ankle injuries, but with the Jazz starting a five-game road trip Sunday in Toronto, he will have little time to recover at home.

With Friday’s loss, the Jazz sit one game behind the Nets in the lottery standings—a gap that could close quickly over the final 33 games, especially if George misses time.