Brooklyn was winning without its second leading scorer. But Thomas ignited Saturday's scoring charge
The Brooklyn Nets reinserted what was supposed to be a rusty Cam Thomas in the lineup Saturday.
Brooklyn instead got the old Thomas -- the one who could explode on the scoring side.
Thomas, who battled back from a hamstring ailment, delivered his 30th career 30-point contest as his Nets blew out the Minnesota Timberwolves 123-107.
The team' second-leading scorer wasn't starting on this evening. Those roles got handed over to leading scorer Michael Porter Jr., Noah Clowney, Nic Claxton, Terance Mann and rookie Egor Demin. Except Thomas erupted for 30 points off the bench through 20 minutes of action.
Thomas, though, didn't believe a "drop off" would occur amid his new role of coming off the bench during his comeback charge.
"There's no drop off between the starters & the bench. The bench...WE came in and did a great job, we'll see how it goes from here," Thomas told the YES Network after the win.
Thomas scored his first basket on a layup via an assist from Day'Ron Sharpe. He went on to score nine points in the opening quarter -- scoring those points in the last 3:21 of the game.
He hadn't played since Nov. 5 and ended up dropping 24 points through the first three quarters of play. Thomas adds a new spark off the bench and readds to Brooklyn's immense shooting depth. Yet he ended the night as Brooklyn's top scorer.
Michael Porter Jr. dropped 27 to lead the starting lineup -- hitting that mark off 9-of-16 shooting. He also nailed down four shots from behind the arc. "MPJ" also hauled down 10 rebounds to produce a brand new double-double.
Clowney ended his evening dropping 11 while grabbing five rebounds. Claxton dropped 14 points and added six rebounds with one block inside the Target Center. Demin and Mann combined for nine points -- with the rookie getting to seven.
Thomas wasn't the only bench player reaching double figures in points. Sharpe scored 10 in 17 minutes of floor action plus led all Nets players in snatching three steals. Rookie Danny Wolf chipped in 11 points -- pulling off the feat also in 17 minutes.
Fellow rookies Drake Powell and Nolan Traore added to the point totals too, scoring a combined 11 on the evening (seven from Powell).
Brooklyn, again, pummeled the T-Wolves in bench points -- outscoring them 62-33 there. The Nets are now 7-3 overall in the month of December.