Cam Thomas was one of the best young players on the court Sunday night in Austin and had the Nets in prime position to snap their two-game losing streak. The 22-year-old went neck-and-neck with No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama, pouring in 31 points on 12-of-23 shooting with five assists in 39 minutes.
But Wembanyama and the Spurs overwhelmed Brooklyn with a 10-0 burst in overtime, escaping with a 122-115 win. Wembanyama, who played 36 minutes, had 33 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and seven blocks in San Antonio’s 15th triumph of the season.
Still, both youngsters had plenty of highlight-worth plays in this matchup. Although it appears as if both of their teams will miss the postseason in 2023-24, the future of the NBA is bright.
Brooklyn fell to 26-42 this season with the loss and is now four games behind the Atlanta Hawks for 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings with 14 games left in the regular season. It is 0-4 in overtime games this season and 4-3 in overtime games against the Spurs all time.
The Nets ended the third quarter on a 10-5 run to take a one-point lead into the final frame. A pair of Thomas free throws put them up 107-101 with 3:35 remaining, but San Antonio answered with a 9-0 run to take a 110-107 lead with 1:04 left in regulation. After trading misses on the ensuing possessions, a Dennis Schröder 3-pointer tied the game at 110 with 15.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
San Antonio turned to Wembanyama for the game-winning attempt, but Nic Claxton was able to force a miss thanks to stifling ball pressure. After another thunderous Wembanyama dunk put the Spurs up 116-115 with 38.2 seconds left in the extra session, the rookie blocked a Schroder layup at the other end, which was originally called a goaltend.
Keldon Johnson, who had 24 points and five 3-pointers, basically put the game away with a layup on San Antonio’s next possession. From there, the Spurs closed it out at the free throw line.
With another elite offensive performance on Sunday, Thomas has now scored at least 20 points in a career-high-tying five straight games since returning from a six-game absence on March 9. He has averaged 26.8 points since then, as he continues to make a late push for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award.
Mikal Bridges shot just 5-of-16 from the field in the loss after a 1-of-8 performance on Saturday in Indiana. However, Brooklyn did play much better as a team compared to Saturday’s loss to the Pacers, finishing plus-10 in the paint, plus-16 in second chance points, and plus-14 in points off turnovers against San Antonio. However, just like on Saturday night, its defense folded and went cold offensively when it mattered most.
The Nets will face the New Orleans Pelicans at Barclays Center on Tuesday.
