Tyrese Martin lone bright spot in Nets’ ugly loss

In the Nets’ next-man-up approach, Tyrese Martin delivered.

Following the sidelining of Cam Thomas (hamstring), Cam Johnson (ankle), Ben Simmons (calf), and later D’Angelo Russell (shin injury during game), the dwindling Nets turned to the bench before tipoff.

It ended in a 123-94 loss on Saturday at Barclays Center, but Martin was a bright spot, scoring 16 points off the bench while adding five rebounds and three ᴀssists.

Tyrese Martin, who scored 16 points off the bench, goes up for a layup during the Nets' 123-94 blowout loss to the 76ers on Jan. 4, 2025. — Tyrese Martin, who scored 16 points off the bench, goes up for a layup during the Nets’ 123-94 blowout loss to the 76ers on Jan. 4, 2025.

It was at least one performance head coach Jordi Fernandez was proud to see at the end of the night.

“Tyrese has been great the whole year,” Fernandez said. “He’s been consistent. Consistent in the rotation, for the most part, and he’s taking advantage of his opportunities. It starts, not just right now, it starts in the summer. He was fighting for a two-way spot. He did all the right things every single day. … And now he’s getting NBA minutes and doing a great job.”

On Nov. 27, the second-year guard scored a career-high 30 points off the bench in the Nets’ 127-117 victory over the Suns.

It was the Nets’ third straight win at the time and improved their unexpected H๏τ start to 9-10.

Just a month prior, Martin, 25, earned a two-way contract with the Nets — the final one they had available.

The No. 51-overall pick in the 2022 draft out of UConn played for the Hawks in the 2022-23 season.

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Tyrese Martin shoots a short jumper during the Nets’ blowout loss to the 76ers.

He averaged just four minutes and 1.3 points across 16 games before spending a year with the G-League’s Iowa Wolves — an affiliate of the Timberwolves.

With the Wolves, he averaged 17.8 points, eight rebounds, and 3.5 ᴀssists across 33 games.

He is now making new waves for the Nets, where he has jumped to 16 minutes per game while averaging 6.7 points.

“He scored 16, 1-for-7 from 3, but I liked all the sH๏τs he took,” Fernandez added. “There’s going to be games that he’s gonna make all seven. We all remember him against Phoenix, right? I don’t care if they go in or not. I just care about his day-to-day work. How good of a teammate he is and the great job he’s done so far. He’s taking advantage of his opportunities and that’s why we love him.”