The Brooklyn Nets entered their Thursday night contest against the Giannis Antetokounmpo-less Milwaukee Bucks shorthanded, with the likes of Nic Claxton, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Cameron Johnson absent due to various reasons. Still, the Nets had plenty of talent left in the active roster. Mikal Bridges wouldn't dare miss a game while healthy, so he's still present to lead the way for them on both ends, and sharpshooters such as Joe Harris and Seth Curry could catch fire at a moment's notice.

However, the Nets came out of the gates with lackluster effort; by the end of the first quarter, the Bucks had already built a 17-point lead. Head coach Jacque Vaughn saw enough and decided to bench his starting unit of Bridges, Harris, Curry, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Nerlens Noel with the game getting away from the Nets' grasp. (Only Noel played a single minute beyond the first quarter.)

As a result, it was the Nets' bench mob that Vaughn relied upon, and they delivered a historic effort in an admirable comeback attempt against the Bucks. Per ESPN Stats & Info, the Nets tallied the most bench points in NBA history since the league started tracking bench stats during the 1970-71 season with 98. They managed to break the previous record held by the 1977 Golden State Warriors, a team whose bench players scored 94 against the Indiana Pacers in March 14, 1977.

In contrast, the Nets starters tallied just 15 points, the lowest total for a starting unit since the Detroit Pistons' starters mustered just 13 points on April 16, 2008.

While no one would have expected the Nets to come back from the dead after a lethargic first quarter effort, the bench mob decided to dig themselves out of their own graves with veteran sharpshooter Patty Mills leading the way. Mills scored a team-best 23 points, and he was tied with unheralded youngsters Dru Smith and David Duke Jr. for a game-high +15.

With the Nets on the first night of a back-to-back, against the best team in the NBA (record-wise) no less, it's no surprise that they're saving their gas for what should be a more even matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Perhaps the Nets' starting unit resumes normal programming tomorrow night.