The play in question appeared to be a bad turnover on Friday. Ben Simmons threw a pass to Dorian Finney-Smith that went out of bounds. But Nets coach Jordi Fernandez saw something else.

He challenged the play while on the other side of the court, believing that Knicks forward OG Anunoby had touched the ball first. Not only was the call overturned, but Anunoby was charged with his sixth foul and was eliminated from the game.

At the time, the Nets trailed 114-107 with 4:15 left. The challenge gave them life as they continued to rally from a 21-point deficit before Jalen Brunson’s late go-ahead goal.

But it also showed why, in his first season, Fernandez found early success by using his challenges wisely. He won both in the fourth quarter against the Knicks and credited his secret weapon to assistant coach Connor Griffin.

“I think I have the best challenge coach in the league, so I’m going to trust him,” Fernandez said after Friday’s match. “So far, Connor has done an incredible job.”

Griffin is in his first year as a Nets assistant, but spent the previous three seasons with the Nuggets, including the last two as head video coordinator and player development coach. His first season coincided with Fernandez’s final season as a Nuggets assistant.

This has led to the confidence that Fernandez has built on winning 10 of 16 challenges so far. Heading into Sunday’s game against the Knicks, he challenged in 11 of 13 games. Fernandez won at least one challenge in eight of those matches.

“We have an analysis system in place,” said Fernandez, who declined to go into detail. “Analysis helps, then coaches. Obviously, the goal is to win each challenge, because it is a competitive advantage. »

His instincts and Griffin’s eye paid off Monday with a late challenge against the Pelicans. With 2.5 seconds left in regulation and the Nets up by two, a jump ball went out of bounds near the Nets bench and was ruled the Pelicans’ ball.

Ziaire Williams was one of the first players to ask Fernandez to see him again. Fernandez spoke with his team and challenged the play. The call was overturned and gave the Nets the ball, allowing them to run out the clock. This was also another game where Fernandez went 2-for-2 on challenges, both of which came in the fourth quarter.

“A lot of guys say challenge and they’re not right,” Cam Thomas said. “So credit to (Ziaire) for being right and getting the ball, close out the game with (Dennis Schroder) just running in the backcourt.”

The challenges can be difficult for coaches, especially first-year coaches. It’s about deciding when to use them and weighing the risk of wasting a downtime if you get it wrong. But Fernandez, who has been praised by Nets players for his keen attention to detail, has managed to handle this problem well so far.

The Nets needed it Friday playing behind most of the game. Fernandez’s win took out one of the Knicks’ best players going down the stretch.

It also involved some risks that could have proved costly later. With the challenge used, the Nets have no timeouts for the rest of the game. After Brunson’s three-pointer with 6.2 seconds left, Schroder quickly ran down the court and had a chance to make a game-tying layup before being blocked by Mikal Bridges.

A timeout would have given a chance to set up a play. But it’s something Fernandez could live with because it gave his team a better chance to win. It worked twice last week and is something Fernandez won’t hesitate to do.

“We are not going to face these challenges at home,” Fernandez said. “That’s something we know. It punished us in the end because we didn’t have time out. But if we don’t win these challenges, we won’t get there with the opportunity to win. So Connor did a great job.

Welcome back, Watford

Trendon Watford was not listed on Sunday’s injury report and was able to make his season debut Sunday after being sidelined with a left hamstring strain since training camp.

Watford were due to play on November 1 after speaking to reporters during the shoot-out that morning. However, he suffered a setback during pregame warmups and missed eight more games.

Evan Barnes covers the Nets for Newsday. He previously covered Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies, as well as prep sports in Los Angeles.