Trailing three-fifths of their starting lineup, the Nets suffered a wire-to-wire 120-96 rout of the Rockets in front of a sellout crowd of 18,003 at Barclays Center.
The Nets were missing eight players, including starters Michael Porter Jr., Egor Dëmin and Terance Mann. Equally notable was the fact that Cam Thomas still couldn’t get going despite their decimated state – and his response to his continued reserve role.
Right out of the gate, the Nets suffered a 12-2 blitz, prompting coach Jordi Fernández to rush for a timeout. It didn’t help.
Then the Nets surrendered a 21-7 run in the second quarter and trailed by double digits for the final 28 minutes of the game.
Thomas led the Nets with 21 points, including 15 during a poor second half.
Granted, he had just one assist and four turnovers and was picked up defensively by former mentor Kevin Durant (22 points, 11 assists). And yes, a minutes limit limited him to just 22:41 in his third game back from a hamstring injury.
But was it frustrating to have to come off the bench while the Nets’ green lineup lit up?
“No comment,” Thomas said, smiling, after a long, pregnant silence.
With the Nets playing Washington on Friday — and the statuses of Porter, Dëmin and Mann up in the air — it’s unclear how long Fernández plans to bring Thomas off the bench.
“Pretty efficient game offensively. Not so much with turnovers; that’s exactly where you have to be cleaner,” Fernández said. “And then comes the defensive end [better] with coverages and so on. But scoring good points with the minutes he plays now.
“And the most important thing is how his body reacts now after all those games, our third game which is important for what he is going through. And so far it is clear that his super strength is happy with his goals; but again, I need better defense, I need better play.”
No other Nets mustered more than 14 points, as they shot just 44.7 percent and 10-for-33 from 3-point range.
The Nets allowed 57.3 percent shooting, with Houston’s Amen Thompson scoring a game-high 23 on 10-for-12 shooting and Alperen Sengun adding another 21.
The Nets (10-21) are fifth in lottery odds, percentage points ahead of the Hornets. They are 2½ games behind the fourth-place Wizards.
Ziaire Williams had 14 points, while rookies Drake Powell and Danny Wolf got their first career starts.
“I trust [Powell and Wolf] trying to do the right things. Their intentions have always been great. I need them to be aggressive. I need them to be more decisive,” Fernández said. “It’s a bit of a growing pain. I think they did a good job. I know they can do much better. And that’s why my standards for all of them will always be high, because we believe they can be special.”
Wolf had nine points, five assists and four rebounds, although he did make a three-pointer that bounced and hit Durant in the face, with the Rockets star jokingly telling Wolf it was a “garbage miss.”
But Durant was serious when he praised protégé Thomas and hoped the soon-to-be free agent would find a team that would build around him.
“I feel like Cam has a bright future. It just needs someone to believe in his talent and his skills,” Durant said. “Scorers and guys who score the basketball at a high level are kind of taken for granted in this league. We’re so used to loving defenders, playmakers and guys who can be connectors, sometimes scorers are taken for granted.”
“So hopefully someone takes a chance on Cam and gives him what he deserves and puts the ball in his hands and builds around him and grows him into a player, because what is he, 24? Still has a lot of time in this league to keep getting better. So hopefully some team puts some faith in him.”
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