The Nets got their first home win of the season but lost the one player they couldn’t afford to lose, leading scorer Cam Thomas.
An ugly ankle injury to Thomas — who was on a mobility scooter afterwards, and will get an MRI Thursday — made Wednesday’s 100-93 victory over the Clippers the very definition of a Pyrrhic one.
The Nets scored six unanswered points spanning the third and fourth quarters — capped by Day’Ron Sharpe free throws — to go ahead for good.
Sharpe’s dunk padded the lead to 89-79 with 6:42 left, and a team that had squandered late leads in losses to the Celtics and Bucks took over down the stretch against the Clippers.
“We kind of imposed our will at the end of that game,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said. “It’s two minutes to go in the game, a four- or six-point game, and we get three offensive rebounds, and then we end with a score. So the effort and concentration behind playing each play until the end of it, give our guys credit, and we played hard.”
But they had to do it without Thomas.
The 22-year-old entered the game seventh in the league in scoring at 28.7 points per game, and had 14 against the Clippers when calamity hit. Or to be more precise, P.J. Tucker did.
With 8:40 left in the third quarter, Thomas rebounded a Russell Westbrook miss and started dribbling.
He went to make a move in the lane, Tucker stuck out his leg and tripped him with 8:33 remaining. Thomas went sprawling to the court, leaving the game.
He got helped to the locker room, barely putting any pressure on the injured ankle.
It was a worrisome sight for the Nets. Mikal Bridges called Thomas a “certified bucket” and their best scorer, while Spencer Dinwiddie acknowledged the team would only go as far as Thomas, Bridges and Ben Simmons would take them.
Now two are out, with Cam Johnson and Nic Claxton as well.
“Yeah, he had to be removed from the game. We’ll know more [Thursday]. He will get an MRI [Thursday],” Vaughn said. “I haven’t seen him, not yet. I addressed the team then came straight here, then I’ll go talk to him after this. All I was told: He’ll get an MRI. The fact that he didn’t finish the game, you know Cam wants to play. So we’ll see what that looks like.”
Playing against a star-studded team that includes ex-Net James Harden (booed on every touch), Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, Brooklyn was already woefully shorthanded.
They lost Thomas, but not the game, with Lonnie Walker IV stepping up with a team-high 21 points and Sharpe adding nine of his 11 in the fourth quarter.
“We got a lot of dogs on our team, it’s just that simple,” Walker said. “You look at Dennis [Smith Jr.], he was a gnat on the defensive side. Trendon [Watford], he had a full-out game earlier this morning and still came out and played a terrific game. Our bench … when they get the opportunity to play, we just got a lot of dogs that are ready to play. They got a chip on their shoulder, and they got something to prove.”
If nothing else they proved their toughness.
Brooklyn trailed 21-13 after a horrid first quarter that saw the Nets shoot just 27.3 percent and 1 of 10 from behind the arc. It was their worst opening period since Jan. 27, 2018 at Minnesota, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Still trailing 49-46 early in the third quarter, the Nets used an 11-3 run to take the lead. Walker’s 3 put Brooklyn ahead 57-52 with 7:08 remaining in the period.
They briefly fell behind 71-69 on an Ivica Zubac tip-in with 1:19 left in the third. But six unanswered points spanning the third and fourth quarters put the Nets up for good. Brooklyn extended the cushion to 89-79, and closed out the game in style.
George had 24 for the Clippers. The Nets held Harden — whose forced trade in February 2022 signaled the end of their superteam — to just a dozen. The crowd booed him during introductions and nearly every time he’s touched the ball, chanting, “Quitter,” “No Heart,” and of course “Daryl Morey.”
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