There was no shortage of Brooklyn Nets blunders during their 122-115 overtime loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday. However, none was more puzzling than interim head coach Kevin Ollie's handling of their final possession.

Trailing 118-115 with 20 seconds remaining in overtime, Ollie called timeout to draw up a play. Five players emerged from Brooklyn's huddle. Cam Thomas, the team's leading scorer with 31 points on 12-of-23 shooting up to that point, was not one of them.

Thomas watched from the bench as Brooklyn ran a set for Cam Johnson, who curled off a screen and missed an open three, sealing the loss. Entering the game, Johnson was 3-of-17 from deep in clutch situations this season (final five minutes of games within five points).

Thomas has been Brooklyn's only consistent source of offense amid their recent struggles. The 22-year-old has averaged 25.8 points on 47/48/80 shooting splits over five games since returning from an ankle injury. Following the defeat, Ollie addressed his decision to leave his top scorer on the bench for the game-deciding possession.

“We got a good look. I trust that shot with CJ taking it to tie the game,” he said. “But that's definitely something that we'll look at going down the stretch again. Would have loved to have CT in there. I'll take that one.”

Given his hot shooting night, Thomas was asked whether he was surprised to be on the bench for the crucial sequence.

“I guess they felt it was the best lineup to get a three off. It was a good look, he just missed it,” Thomas responded. “It is what it is. I mean, if he made it, we wouldn't be here talking about whether I was in the game or not. It it was it is, you can't get it back. Just gotta move on to the next game.”

Nets' heartbreaking loss to Spurs

Cam Thomas' disappearance down the stretch was just as puzzling as Kevin Ollie's decision to remove him on the final possession. The third-year guard hit a pair of free throws to put Brooklyn up 107-101 with 3:35 remaining in regulation. However, he would attempt just two shots over the final eight-plus minutes as the Nets offense stalled, allowing a 21-7 run to close the game.

Brooklyn shot 3-of-17 from the field (17.6 percent) and 2-of-8 from three during that span as Victor Wembanyama took over for San Antonio. The French Phenom scored 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting while blocking two shots over the game's final 10 minutes. He finished with 33 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and seven blocks on 14-of-26 shooting.

The 20-year-old joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as only the second player in NBA history to record a 33-15-7-7 game.

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“If we switch, then he gets on one of the smalls, and there's really nothing we can do; he's just too tall,” Thomas said of Wembanyana's impact. “Just his height, his length, impacting the rim. When we drive he's coming over late and still blocking the shot. Just the way he alters our shots at the rim… But I'd say where he hurt us most was the drop-offs, the finishes in the paint. Really just his paint points, that's what really killed us.”

Mikal Bridges' extended struggles continued during the defeat. The 27-year-old scored 14 points on 5-of-16 shooting. Over Brooklyn's last 13 games, Bridges is averaging 15.9 points on 37.4 percent from the field.

The letdown performance underscores the Nets' continued free fall since firing Jacque Vaughn and promoting Ollie to interim head coach. Brooklyn is 2-6 over its last eight games, with losses to the Memphis Grizzlies, Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets and Spurs, who all rank in the bottom six of the NBA standings.

Ollie's squad has fallen to 26-42, four games back of the Atlanta Hawks for the Eastern Conference's final play-in spot with 14 remaining.