CHARLOTTE — With 19 games left entering Saturday, the Nets badly needed reinforcements as they chased the play-in tournament. They got some before facing the Hornets.
Cam Thomas is available after missing six games with a right ankle/mid-foot sprain. Day’Ron Sharpe also is available following two games out with a right wrist contusion.
Both were sorely missed — along with Cam Johnson — as the Nets struggled in Detroit Thursday. The Pistons had more gas to finish the race with a 9-0 fourth-quarter run powering them to a rare win — their 10th — this season.
Adding Thomas’ scoring ability fills the offensive tank that was running near empty. The Nets had to dig deep in their bench with rookie center Noah Clowney playing 10 minutes Thursday and recent trade acquisition Keita Bates-Diop, who usually plays garbage time, played four minutes in the first quarter.
Neither had much impact. Lonnie Walker had 21 points against the Pistons while battling an illness that left him hoarse during a halftime interview with YES Network.
While Dennis Schroder has picked up his scoring the last few games, the Nets miss Thomas’ ability to score from anywhere to take the burden off Mikal Bridges, who has struggled as teams are defending him tighter.
“As I said before, it wasn’t that serious. I was fine,” Thomas said at shootaround Thursday. “But just rehabbing it, making sure I’m good enough to play when I feel like I can play out there, play like myself a little bit.”
The Nets need all the help they can get. They woke up Saturday four games behind the Hawks for the final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference. Seven days earlier, they were two games behind the Hawks after defeating them for the second time in three days.
Now they’ve lost ground as the schedule gets tougher and they’re away from Barclays Center for all but one of the next 10 games. The odds are longer for the Nets, who have the fourth fewest road wins of any team in the East at 9-20
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