Cam Thomas is the true deal.
Brooklyn’s second-year scorer hung 43 factors within the crew’s valiant effort in a 116-112 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.
After a 44-point efficiency towards the Washington Wizards and a brand new career-high 47 factors towards the Los Angeles Clippers, Thomas grew to become the youngest participant in NBA historical past to attain 40 or extra factors in three straight video games.
He additionally grew to become the second participant in NBA historical past behind solely Allen Iverson to attain 40 or extra factors in three straight video games earlier than the age of twenty-two.
He has now scored 134 factors within the three video games the Nets have performed since Irving’s commerce request.
Thomas scored 30 of these factors by means of the primary three quarters earlier than a collection of turnovers and missed pictures unraveled his evening. He bounced again late down the stretch to maintain the Nets in a recreation the Suns tried to open up.
The outcomes, nevertheless, are in: The Nets are actually 5-9 in video games they’ve performed since Durant’s Jan. 8 harm towards the Miami Heat. For reference, they went 5-16 and rode an 11-game shedding streak when Durant went down with the same harm final season.
Durant attended Monday’s matchup towards the Los Angeles Clippers and watched from the bench however was not seen on the bench Tuesday evening. Seth Curry additionally missed the sport with adductor pressure, and each Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith — the 2 gamers who arrived from Dallas within the Irving deal — have been held out of Tuesday’s recreation.
It was shut, however no cigar: the theme of the weeks which have adopted Durant’s MCL sprain, and now Kyrie Irving’s midseason commerce to the Dallas Mavericks.
The Nets have confirmed pure hustle, effort and high quality teaching can preserve them in video games regardless of their evident lack of obtainable star energy.
Those components, nevertheless, haven’t been sufficient to get the Nets over the hump.
Meanwhile, Ben Simmons returned to the court docket after lacking 5 straight video games resulting from left knee soreness. Simmons tried simply two pictures and completed with two factors. He added six assists and 4 rebounds in his 27 minutes on the court docket, however was subjected to boos from the Barclays Center crowd after dribbling the ball off his foot out of bounds on a drive to the rim.
Vaughn pulled Simmons after a brief stint on the high of the fourth quarter, although it’s understood Simmons, who continues to work his method again from offseason again surgical procedure, is working at a restricted capability.
Reserve ahead T.J. Warren performed within the second recreation of a again to again after lacking 4 straight video games with a left shin contusion. After scoring eight factors in 12 minutes towards the Clippers, Warren scored 17 off the bench on 6-of-10 taking pictures in simply 22 minutes towards the Suns.
The Nets have continued to place forth valiant efforts. They beat the Washington Wizards by two, misplaced to the Clippers in a seesaw affair by eight, and stored it shut towards Phoenix, succumbing to the starpower of Chris Paul, DeAndre Ayton, Mikal Bridges and Devin Booker, who returned from a groin harm to attain 19 factors towards the Nets on Tuesday.
Close received’t lower it, not if the target is holding Durant content material in Brooklyn. It will take some wins, and loads of them. The Nets, nevertheless, will get some assist when their new gamers take the court docket.
Next up: DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and the Chicago Bulls on Thursday, hours after the three p.m. commerce deadline.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com