MILWAUKEE — Jordi Fernandez is coaching to win.
Not tomorrow or next season or the year after that, when the so-called tanking is done.
He means right now.
And that’s how his Nets played in drilling heavily favored Milwaukee, 113-110, at Fiserv Forum on Thursday night.
Brooklyn led by as much as two dozen, then had to hold on for dear life.
But unlike in Orlando to start this trip — where the Nets blew a 17-point cushion with seven minutes left — this time, they did hold on.
Cam Johnson, amid a mid-career breakthrough and expected to be one of the most sought-after players at the trade deadline, had a team-high 26 points, while Cam Thomas added 24 off the bench.
Johnson twisted his ankle going for the rebound of Dame Lillard’s potential tying miss at the buzzer in potential bad news for the nets if the injury becomes a longer-term issue.
D’Angelo Russell (11 points, 12 assists) and Nic Claxton (16 points, 11 rebounds) each had double-doubles.
“Jordi and I had heart-to-hearts of, ‘Hey, look, we’re going to build this, and this is how we’re going to build it.’ We want to be a partnership together on this. So he’s been nothing but fantastic,” general manager Sean Marks told The Post. “He made it very clear, ‘I’m going to go out there and I’m going to try and coach and win every game.’ I said, ‘Great, go for it.’ The goal isn’t to not compete, right? The goal is you go out there, develop a culture of competing and playing hard and playing the right way.
“And that’s what he’s done. Obviously, when talent leaves, comes and goes from the team, it’s not an easy task. So by no means does this coaching staff right now have an easy run. There’s been multiple days where, whether it’s through injuries or trades, that the lineup looks quite different and they’ve had to figure that out. So they’re learning on the fly and doing a heck of a job, very admirable job of dealing with these ups and downs and ins and outs.”
Brooklyn had dropped three straight and 11 of its past 14, including falling the night before in Toronto to snap the Raptors’ 11-game skid.
And they were facing a Milwaukee team that was 4-1 with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Damian Lillard together.
But Johnson essentially matched Antetokounmpo bucket-for-bucket, and Russell largely outplayed Lillard.
The defense did the rest.
There was Thomas fighting for position and taking an offensive foul from much bigger Bobby Portis.
And Claxton battling inside against a bigger team.
Brooklyn forced the Bucks into turnovers and got out and ran, outscoring Milwaukee 27-8 off turnovers.
“Yeah, it’s been part of our identity,” Fernandez said. “And I think when we’ve been efficient at doing it, we can be good and we give ourselves a chance, a reason why we’ve won games so far. That’s important for us. Obviously, as a different team 1735878785 than it was last game. But so far, we’ve been able to be competitive and our ball pressure — not just in the half court but also in the full court — has been important.
“We’ll go out there and space the floor, do what we’re doing offensively and defensively, the extra toughness, physicality, the multiple effort to finish possessions, get the 50-50 balls. That’s what I’m asking for everybody. I cannot ask them to grow, so all we can do is we can control. And I know our guys will do what they’ve done so far. And I’m excited to see it.”
Down 13-5 early, the Nets used a 25-8 run in the first quarter.
Thomas capped it to go ahead, 30-21.
The Nets racked up 36 points in the 2nd quarter when they padded the lead to as many as 15 points.
It was 66-54 at the break, but Brooklyn stormed out of the locker room with a 14-2 run to push the lead to 24 on a Claxton free throw.
But they let the Bucks close the quarter on a 17-4 blitz, much of it with Russell resting.
It was a carbon copy of their 102-101 loss to the Magic to start this road swing.
They led by as many as 21 points in the third quarter and 17 with 7:16 left but lost their poise and the game.
This time, Brooklyn saw Milwaukee get within 111-108 with a minute left.
And Lillard got free and drove the lane, cutting the lead to 111-110.
But after the Nets forced an Antetokounmpo miss inside, Ziaire Williams — in his first game back after missing 12 straight — snatched the defensive rebound with 6.1 seconds left.
He calmly sank a pair of free throws on the other end.
