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The kid carried them.
After the Nets had trailed the Knicks for more than three quarters Wednesday night, Cam Thomas led the comeback. And the rookie hit the dagger shots down the stretch of a 111-106 win before 18,916 at the Garden.
Thomas finished with 21 points, including the game-sealing 3-pointer with 7.7 seconds left.
“It was the game-winner. We know that about Cam. We’ve seen it in Summer League, we’ve seen it at times this year. He loves those moments. There’s a gene in there somewhere, and he has that,” Nets coach Steve Nash said. “He has a deep belief in his ability. I think he seeks those moments. So that’s something that’s inside him that is rare. That’s an innate talent.”
That talent was on display when the Nets needed it.
After they trailed by as many as 28, midway through the second quarter, Thomas led them back.
The rookie came into the fourth quarter with just five points on 2-for-11 shooting, but he poured in 16 in the final period to lead the Nets’ comeback.
He had seven straight Nets points in a 15-0 run that pulled them back into the game, and into their first lead of the night. And with the Nets clinging to a 106-103 edge, he drilled a 29-foot step-back to end the Knicks.
“It was 16 on the clock, 10 on the shot clock, so we just went in the back court. I saw coach tell them everyone flatten out, so I knew it was one-on-one time,” Thomas said. “So I just went to my go-to move. So glad it went in because I was struggling. I went like 1-for-9, 1-for-10 to start, wasn’t getting any calls, so I just had to keep playing through it, keep playing so I’m glad it worked out for us.”
Thomas got mobbed by the Nets, led by his mentor, Kevin Durant, when he went back to the bench.
“Yeah, everybody was just happy,” Thomas said. “We just wanted to stay locked. After that we had to get back locked in. They hit a 3, but we just wanted to get locked in and close the game out. And that’s what we did.
“Credit to [LaMarcus Aldridge] hitting those two free throws for us to close the game out. So, that’s just a test to who we are now. So we just want to keep building, keep it going through All-Star break.”
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