Kevin Durant’s crossover, Cam Thomas’ return and super small ball as Nets rout Wizards
WASHINGTON — Daniel Gafford was on the floor, and Capital One Arena was on its feet.
In the first quarter of the Brooklyn Nets’ 128-86 win over the Washington Wizards on Friday night, Kevin Durant had his signature moment of the season. He drove down the court at Gafford and pulled up, only to finish a crossover and causing Gafford’s legs to slip, split and hit the floor.
he just did THAT
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) November 4, 2022
Wizards fans got up to salute the hometown kid as he swished a midrange jumper to finish the sequence. It sent the entire Nets roster into pandemonium. Yuta Watanabe skipped down the court in celebration while Day’Ron Sharpe had to be restrained. Others put their hands on top of their head. Nets interim coach Jacque Vaughn later said he’s happy the camera didn’t get his reaction. When asked for his vantage point in the postgame news conference, Royce O’Neale whistled.
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“That was tough,” O’Neale said. “I think you saw everybody’s reaction. I mean, it is a great play, great player.”
Frame it 📸
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) November 4, 2022
Durant, who grew up in Prince George’s County, Md., less than 10 miles from the arena, reminded the local crowd of the player they watched star at Montrose Christian before he headed to the University of Texas and then global stardom. And the sequence reminded the league that even with just Durant clicking, the Nets can still find ways to grind out wins.
KD with no Kyrie or Simmons:
28 PTS
9 REB
11 AST
+35W.
— StatMuse (@statmuse) November 5, 2022
The 6-foot-10 forward finished with 28 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists, flirting with his first triple-double of the season and putting the Nets at 3-6 as they head into a Saturday night game in Charlotte against the Hornets.
Here are five thoughts on the 42-point win, which matched the largest margin of victory in a road game in franchise history:
Quite the defensive showing
The Wizards aren’t a three-headed monster offensively, but the Nets held them to just 29 points in the second half, an impressive feat for a defense that has spent the first few weeks of the season in the league’s cellar. The Wizards shot just 23.5 percent on 3-point attempts, and the Nets had eight steals and seven blocks. Nic Claxton had three of those rejections. The Nets forced 14 turnovers on the Wizards for 15 points.
“I feel like we never stopped talking defensively tonight,” Watanabe said.
The communication showed. Vaughn said the coaching staff showed only one defensive clip at halftime. It was of the team in shell coverage with everyone ready to back up as the help defender.
“You saw multiple times multiple effort from guys where they are coming over from the low man, then scrambling out and still making contests,” Vaughn said. “So, when you are small, you have to make multiple efforts. … Showing for each other, helping each other, going out and contesting shots.”
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Royce continues to roll
Of all general manager Sean Marks’ recent trades, the one that has aged best is a 2023 first-round pick to the Jazz, who will receive the least favorable of the Nets/Rockets first-round pick swap and the Sixers first-round pick that was previously acquired by the Nets. He came to Brooklyn to be a 3-and-D player and has held up his end of the deal. O’Neale entered the game averaging 10.8 points per game on 41 percent shooting from the field.
“He’s just a smart basketball player,” Vaughn said. “I think he gives us the luxury of being able to put the basketball in his hand with different groups. He has a high IQ, so he keeps things pretty simple, which is pretty awesome.”
This dime from Royce >>
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) November 4, 2022
O’Neale also is averaging 1.4 steals and 0.9 blocks per game, both of which will end up as career highs if they hold. He chased down opposing players and put his hands in passing lanes to force steals. On Friday, he had 13 points and dished out a career-high eight assists. The 6-foot-6 forward helped Durant offset the playmaking void.
“I think it was just kind of how the game went,” O’Neale said. “I mean, I think we had, what, 30-some assists overall. I think everybody knew the ball had to move. The focus was going to be on Kevin. So I mean, everybody else stepped up. Just driving the paint, creating open looks for everybody else, and everybody just being ready to play, step up to every game.”
Vaughn influence: Playing small with pace
The last time Vaughn was named interim coach, the two main changes he made before the COVID-19 pandemic began were inserting DeAndre Jordan into the starting lineup and having the Nets switch more. The second time around, he has taken over a much different roster — and a thin one with no Kyrie Irving or Simmons.
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“We’ll really see if we can play with some tempo. We’ll have some smaller lineups out there a little bit and see if we can get a few guys to fill in for a lot of point production that we’ll be missing,” Vaughn said.
Vaughn didn’t just go small. He went “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” small. At one point, Vaughn deployed a lineup of Thomas, Patty Mills, O’Neale and Joe Harris, with Watanabe serving as the center. Watanabe, who stands at 6-8, said Vaughn gave him a heads-up before the game that he would see time at center. He finished with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
“High school,” Watanabe said when asked the last time he had played center.
Getting it done on both ends
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) November 5, 2022
The Nets also had a similar lineup to start the second quarter: Markieff Morris, Mills, David Duke Jr., Watanabe and Harris, but Morris brings a little more size to that small-ball lineup. Vaughn said part of his reasoning was the roster situation, but the decision also played into the matchup.
“Overall, you have to be flexible with your lineups that you put out in today’s game,” Vaughn said. “We looked at it as an advantage having Yuta out there when Gafford was there. He can stretch the floor, you can put multiple shooters around him and make it difficult to contain Kevin.”
Cam Thomas returns
Amid all the storylines this week, a small one was Cam Thomas’ Instagram bio briefly having the hashtag #FreeCT with chain emojis in it, a likely shot at his lack of playing time this season. Coming into the game, Thomas had played in just three of eight games for less than 15 total minutes.
Cam Thomas in 30 minutes:
17 PTS
6 AST
2 3P
+36He played only 15 minutes this season before tonight.
— StatMuse (@statmuse) November 5, 2022
With the Nets short on depth in Washington, Thomas was the sixth man Friday and finished with 17 points in 32 minutes on 6-of-13 shooting. He was plus-36 for the game and had a career-high six assists. Thomas has received plenty of praise over the years for his playmaking, but getting him to do it has been a challenge.
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“Cam, you’ve seen him before,” Vaughn said. “He has the ability to make plays. He’s grown as a basketball player to make plays for himself and others.”
Cookin' with gas
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) November 5, 2022
Injury updates
Vaughn said Thursday that Seth Curry would play in only one game of the back-to-back as he returns from ankle surgery. He sat Friday, but he’ll suit up Saturday in Charlotte, his hometown, where his dad, Dell, is the color commentator for Hornets games.
• Harris came out of his first back-to-back in good health, and Vaughn expects him to play Saturday as well.
• Simmons is out for Charlotte, and it remains to be seen if he will play Tuesday in Dallas. The 6-foot-10 point guard is out with knee soreness and underwent an MRI earlier this week. The exam came back clean. Additionally, Simmons’ knee was drained. Vaughn said the Nets will consult with the medical team on the next steps for Simmons. If he doesn’t play Tuesday, the Nets host the Knicks on Wednesday before heading west.
• T.J. Warren remains far from playing. Vaughn said Thursday that the 6-foot-8 forward has yet to start scrimmaging, which is usually the sign an injured player is close to returning. “He’s been working on the floor,” Vaughn said. “He’s been getting more shots up. He got a workout in this morning on the floor, so another positive day in his direction.”
(Photo of Durant: Tommy Gilligan / USA Today)
