NEW YORK (AP) — Jordi Fernandez kept the game ball from his first NBA win, which he said will be a reminder of where he came from and where he hopes his career will lead.
“I’m going to put it in my office,” Fernandez said, “because my wife does a great job decorating the house and she doesn’t want my basketball stuff there.”
The rookie head coach earned the victory in his third game Sunday when the Brooklyn Nets beat the Milwaukee Bucks 115-102. Fernandez, a native of Badalona, Spain, said his wife and kids were at the game, along with his parents, friends and extended family.
The celebration was the culmination of a 15-year journey that started when Fernandez left Spain at 26. He had begun coaching in his teens and, after coming to the U.S., worked his way up from head coach of the Canton Charge in the NBA G League to an assistant on playoff teams in Denver and Sacramento before getting his first chance to run his own NBA team last spring.
“So it’s very special to come all the way from starting from the bottom in the NBA, and working really hard and move up, and move up, and some good moments, some tough moments, different teams, friends, memories," Fernandez said. "And it’s really cool now you look and you have to enjoy this moment because there’s only one time that you’re a head coach and win a (first) game.
“On the other end, I also feel like, what’s the next step? And we’ve got to move on to the next thing and I want to be in this league, I want to be with this club for a long time.”
Fernandez deflected the credit toward his players, who treated him to a postgame celebration that Fernandez said was fun and wet.
“I mean, a guy from Europe, from Spain, being a head coach in the NBA, that’s big time,” said Nets guard Dennis Schroder, who is German.
Fernandez coached Canada’s Olympic team this summer after leading the Canadians to their first men’s basketball medal in 2023, a bronze at the World Cup. He was an assistant with Nigeria’s Olympic team in the previous Olympics.
Now he has his own club in Brooklyn and, after Sunday, a new basketball.
“It represents a moment in my life,” Fernandez said, “and you look at it and it’s the beginning of something special.”
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Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez coaches against the Milwaukee Bucks during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
DENVER (AP) — A sick Jamal Murray may have been questionable for Game 6, but in his mind there was nothing ambiguous about his playing status.
“Absolutely not,” Murray said when asked if there was any chance he'd have sat out the game.
Murray scored 25 points and powered the Denver Nuggets past the Thunder 119-107 Thursday night, sending the series back to Oklahoma City for a decisive Game 7.
After being sick for 24 hours, Murray ignited the Nuggets with a four-point play to start things off and sank a step-back 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter that pushed Denver's lead into double digits.
Nikola Jokic led Denver with 29 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists, and Christian Braun scored a career playoff-best 23 points. But it was second-year reserve guard Julian Strawther who ignited the Nuggets' runaway, scoring a career playoff-high 15 points, all in the second half.
“Julian played huge for us, made real big shots," Aaron Gordon said. “I don't think that's something that they game-planned for.”
Strawther had a pair of 3s and a layup during the decisive 10-0 third-quarter spurt and he kept making big plays at both ends in the fourth quarter as the Nuggets finally had a laugher in this exhaustive, physical series.
Case in point: Strawther lost a crown in the fourth quarter. A ballboy retrieved the artificial tooth from the circle when the action went to the other end.
Gordon grabbed at his left hamstring late in the game and hobbled through the final few minutes, but he insisted he'd be fine for Game 7, which is Sunday, with the Minnesota Timberwolves awaiting the winner after dispatching Golden State in five games.
If he's good to go, that would be a huge relief for Denver interim coach David Adelman, who called Gordon “the reason why we've won games and won series and have a banner hanging up.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 32 points, but he didn’t get enough help from his teammates to clinch Oklahoma City's first trip to the Western Conference Finals since 2016. All-Star Jalen Williams scored six points on 3-of-16 shooting.
The Nuggets, who won the title two years ago, finally get two days off after a grueling past few weeks. They have played every other day since April 29.
“The guys in there looked like they were happier to have tomorrow off than they were about going to a Game 7,” Adelman said.
The Thunder have only lost back-to-back games twice this season, once in November and once in early April. However, this will be the current iteration's first win-or-go-home game.
“First of all, credit Denver — they threw a punch tonight as has happened in the series, both teams are exchanging blows," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “They got theirs in tonight, and both teams have done a great job of standing back up, including us, and we need to do that on Sunday.”
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From left, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort, center Isaiah Hartenstein, guard Cason Wallace, forward Jaylin Williams and guard Aaron Wiggins look on from the bench as time runs out in the second half of Game 6 in the Western Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs against the Denver Nuggets Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Denver Nuggets guard Julian Strawther reacts after hitting a 3-point basket late in the second half of Game 6 in the Western Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic collects a loose ball in the first half of Game 6 in the Western Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, front, drives the lane as Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. defends in the first half of Game 6 in the Western Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, front left, drives to the basket as Oklahoma City Thunder guards Alex Caruso, back left, and Luguentz Dort defend in the first half of Game 6 in the Western Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)