Cam Thomas scores career-high 44 as Kyrie Irving’s fill-in

Cam Thomas knew he had to score, and score in bunches, if the Nets were going to stand a chance against the Washington Wizards on Saturday.

With no Kevin Durant (MCL sprain), Ben Simmons (left knee soreness), T.J. Warren (left shin contusion) or Kyrie Irving (“right calf soreness”), the Nets were desperate for buckets — and after their 43-point loss to the Boston Celtics, they were desperate for a victory.

And once again, Thomas answered the bell for a short-handed Nets team. He scored a career-high 44 points on 16-of-23 shooting from the field to gun the Nets back from down 23 in their 125-123 victory over the Wizards on Saturday. He also finished with six rebounds and five assists, agreeing with the assertion this was the most complete game of his young NBA career.

“In the NBA? Yeah. Tonight I had the opportunity to show off my full game,” he said postgame. “I’ve always been able to do that stuff. It’s just my coaches asking me when I was coming up through every league or circuit. I was supposed to score the ball. So whatever my team needs me to do to win, that’s what I’m gonna do. I’m not just going to do anything just to get praise from the media. I’m trying to help my team win.”

Thomas scored 19 of his 44 points in the fourth quarter alone. With Irving out, the Nets needed someone else to step up to play the closer role in the final period.

Head coach Jacque Vaughn said he didn’t want to play Thomas 29 minutes but that the second-year guard’s performance forced his hand.

“I think first of all I’m glad he has belief in me in the sense that we were trying to save him. These guys haven’t played 30 minutes in a long time and you saw there was a lot of stress on the guys minute-wise,” Vaughn said postgame. “But to have him, we know he can make shots in the fourth. He’s done it before, he’s proven that so to try and get him to the second half was hopefully the goal. And he has the ability to make shots and he has the ability to step up in the moment and not panic.”

Thomas projects to move up in the rotation in the event the Nets strike a deal that sends Irving elsewhere. The 21-year-old guard looks to Irving as a mentor and said he has a strong relationship with the star guard but has not reached out to him in the aftermath of his trade request from Brooklyn.

“For what? That’s his business. I’m trying to get ready for a game. At the end of the day, he’s made the best decision for himself,” he said. “Everybody was surprised, but you know, that’s not my business. That’s still my brother at the end of the day. He’s one of the few guys I really consider a brother in basketball. Just a big brother I can look up to and ask anything. Whatever happens, happens. That’s my brother. No matter what at the end of the day.”

This is the second time Thomas has thrived in Irving’s absence. When Irving served an eight-game suspension in the middle of November for posting antisemitic materials on his social media feeds, Thomas saw increased minutes and scored in double figures in five of those eight games. When the Nets rested virtually all their rotation players in an unlikely victory over the Indiana Pacers, Thomas scored 33 points in 39 minutes off the bench.

It’s unclear if Irving will ever wear a Nets jersey again after another contract standoff with Nets management. No matter who is in or out of the lineup, it’s clear Thomas is ready for his moment.

“It shows how hard I’ve been working to be ready for this moment when my number is called and I do what I’m supposed to do and what I can do and what I’ve been doing all my life,” he said. “So it feels good just to be ready and to have an opportunity.”