The Brooklyn Nets desperately needed a morale boost amid a 3-14 stretch entering Friday's matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers. They received it in the form of a Cam Thomas scoring explosion during a 130-112 victory over LeBron James and the Lakers.

Thomas scored a game-high 33 points on 13-of-18 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 from three. The 22-year-old foreshadowed his elite performance ahead of the nationally televised matchup.

“Growing up, I was a Lakers fan, so every time I have a chance to play them, I try to go crazy,” he said at shootaround. “Obviously, me being a Kobe guy and just playing the Lakers, that's more ammunition to it.”

Thomas had no issues backing up his talk from the opening tip before a sellout Hollywood crowd. The third-year guard dropped 20 first-half points on his way to outscoring the entire Lakers bench.

He also posted four assists, all of which came in the first half. Head coach Jacque Vaughn commended Thomas' ability to create opportunities for his teammates after Los Angeles shifted attention to him early in the game.

“He saved us in that first half, for sure. His ability to get us open looks,” Vaughn said. “They got to a point where they started trapping him then we got some looks out of that. I just thought he did a lot of good things tonight, whether it was once he got the attention on him, he had four assists. His ability just to make the right play. He's just growing.”

After trailing by six at the half, Brooklyn outscored Los Angeles 68-44 over the final two periods. The Nets shot 19-of-47 from three (40.4 percent) compared to 12-of-33 for Los Angeles (36.4 percent), gaining a 21-point advantage from beyond the arc, an area they had struggled both offensively and defensively during their recent cold stretch.

Thomas was one of seven Nets to reach double figures in the win. Nic Claxton outperformed Anthony Davis as the game progressed, posting 22 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks on 11-of-16 shooting.

Spencer Dinwiddie turned in his second straight high-level performance following an extended slump that drew questions about his buy-in with Brooklyn. He posted 19 points, 13 coming in the third quarter, along with four assists on 5-of-11 shooting. Mikal Bridges added 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting and Lonnie Walker IV chipped in 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting off the bench in his return to Los Angeles.

The win brings the Nets to 17-24 on the season. Brooklyn will remain in Los Angeles to face the Clippers on Sunday before returning home for a matchup with the crosstown rival New York Knicks on Tuesday.