The Brooklyn Nets' 130-93 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday was another game to forget for Noah Clowney. Amid an underwhelming start to the season, Clowney's struggles boiled over in Dallas. The fourth-year forward fouled out in just 7:47.
Clowney finished with two points, zero rebounds and zero assists on 1-of-3 shooting. Jordi Fernandez reacted bluntly to the 22-year-old's fouling during the loss.
“That's something that he's gotta figure out. He put us in the bonus right away, in one minute. That's tough,” Fernandez said. “I think it comes from a good place because Noah is an extremely competitive guy, but doing the war on your own, it's just tough at times when you do it that way. You gotta choose the right way to do it and channel all that energy, and sometimes frustration, the right way. I think the one person who is helping him and will help him is Juwan [Howard], because he's been there. I know that the intentions are great. It's just keep doing what's best for the group.”
Clowney's inability to defend or hold up on the defensive glass without fouling has been a problem for Brooklyn. The Alabama product is averaging 5.1 fouls per 36 minutes, the seventh-most among 187 players who have played over 190 minutes this season.
Clowney lost control of his emotions during the third quarter against the Mavericks.
After Morez Johnson knocked him down on the offensive end, Clowney took a shot at the Mavericks rookie going the other way and picked up his fifth foul. The officials reviewed the sequence and assessed Johnson a technical foul.
Noah Clowney gets knocked down by Morez Johnson, then takes a run at him on the other end. Johnson got a technical for knocking Clowney down initially.
Clowney has been involved in quite a few spats this season. pic.twitter.com/XN1cI3upFT
— Erik Slater (@ErikSlater_) November 9, 2026
A few possessions later, Clowney got frustrated again and shoved Johnson, picking up his sixth foul and ending his night.
And Clowney picks up a frustration foul on Johnson not long after. That's his sixth, so he's done.
Clowney played 7:47 tonight. https://t.co/IfUtOFnpP2 pic.twitter.com/ULRjrynP7s
— Erik Slater (@ErikSlater_) November 9, 2026
Clowney's scuffle with Johnson was one of several spats the Nets forward has been involved in this season. His dust-ups after the whistles have been more notable than anything he's done between them.
Noah Clowney's struggles boil over during Nets' blowout loss to Mavericks
Clowney has averaged 5.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 0.8 turnovers while shooting 16-of-43 (37%) from the field and 6-of-23 (26%) from three in 19.7 minutes per game across 10 appearances. The Nets have been 12.0 points worse per 100 possessions with him on the floor, the team's second-worst net rating swing, ahead of only Moe Wagner (-22.0), per CleaningTheGlass.
Article Continues BelowClowney is in a contract season after the Nets declined to extend him ahead of the Nov. 3 deadline. Despite the former first-round pick's struggles, Fernandez doesn't appear ready to remove him from the rotation.
“We need Noah Clowney,” the Nets coach said. “That first half against Charlotte, we don't win that game without him. So we need the best version of him because we know how good he is.”
Fernandez has surprisingly buried Josh Minott behind Clowney in the Nets' rotation thus far. Minott impressed during the second half of last season after Brooklyn traded for him at the deadline.
The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 7.4 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 62.6 percent on twos and 41.8 percent on threes in 17.0 minutes per game across 49 appearances with the Nets and Boston Celtics last season. He was the NBA's only player to post steal and block percentages above 2.5 while shooting over 40.0 percent from three. His 4.7 deflections per 36 minutes ranked 17th among 322 players who played over 800 minutes.
The Nets signed Minott to a two-year, $9 million contract extension this summer. Yet, he's seen extended playing time in only one game this season.
Minott made the most of his garbage-time minutes on Sunday. The 6-foot-8 forward posted 10 points, two rebounds, one assist and two steals on 4-of-10 shooting while playing the entire fourth quarter.