Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas had struggled to replicate his early-season brilliance in seven games since returning from an ankle injury entering Saturday's matchup with the Golden State Warriors. Thomas shook off the rust at Chase Center, scoring a game-high 41 points on 15-of-24 shooting in a last-second 124-120 loss.
Cam Thomas broke out of his shooting slump in a big way against Golden State:
41 points
15/24 FG
5/13 from three
6/6 FTA welcome sight for the Nets as he continues to reacclimate following a nine-game absence. pic.twitter.com/zHwdFxXnV7
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) December 17, 2023
The performance marks Thomas' sixth 40-point performance of his NBA career, moving him past Bernard King for the most all-time by a Net age of 22 or younger. All other Nets players have combined for six in the franchise's history.
- Cam Thomas: 6
- Bernard King: 5
- Stephon Marbury: 2
- D'Angelo Russell, Kerry Kittles, Robert Hawkins, Cliff Robinson: 1
Following Saturday's performance, Thomas said he is beginning to regain his early-season flow offensively.
“Just my feeling out there, the way I started the game off. I felt good coming in, feeling better, getting better by the day,” Thomas said. “In transition when I did a little floater, that’s when I really felt like I was good… My rhythm is coming back, getting there where I need to be. So I just wanna keep it up and keep going.”
Thomas scored 24 points on 11 shots in the first half. No other Net reached double figures in the half, with the rest of the team combining to shoot 13-of-36 (36.1 percent).
The LSU product said he was intentional about ramping up his aggressiveness with his teammates struggling.
“I saw that we needed it in the first half a little bit. I mean, we had great looks, but we weren’t making them, so I knew I had to be a little extra aggressive,” he said. “I had it going, so I just wanted to keep the team in the game. That’s what was required for the game in the first half today. So I just tried to keep us in the game a little bit. That was all there was to it.”
After returning from a nine-game absence due to his ankle injury, Cam Thomas came off the bench during his first game back. Head coach Jacque Vaughn then moved him back into the starting lineup, sliding Dorian Finney-Smith – who is shooting a career-best 44 percent from three this season – to the bench for Brooklyn's last six games.
Despite his struggles, Vaughn reaffirmed his commitment to Thomas in the starting lineup before Thursday's win over the Phoenix Suns. The coach commended the third-year guard's growth in the starting unit following Saturday's breakout performance.
“Cam continues to step up to different challenges. Tonight we needed him to score,” Vaughn said. “His ability to break down defenses is pretty elite, and then he's continuing to grow in different areas. He's seeing different defenses and he's learning from it. He's growing as a player.”
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