Cam Johnson goes off for 34 points as shorthanded Nets top Hornets

The status of leading scorer Cam Thomas gradually getting downgraded throughout the day, from available to probable to questionable to — 20 minutes before tip-off — out seemed ominous for the Nets. They were already shorthanded with center Nic Claxton sidelined.

They’d already lost three consecutive games, too.

A near-.500 start, more promising than their rebuilding outlook would’ve suggested, had quickly started to unravel. 

But the Nets found a way to replicate Thomas’ production — with Cam Johnson pouring in a season-high 34 points on 11-for-20 shooting — and relied on a balanced offense to overcome an ugly start against the Hornets, capitalize on Charlotte’s 23 turnovers and escape with a 116-115 win Tuesday night as the NBA Cup returned to Barclays Center.

Jalen Wilson, making his first start of the season in place of Thomas, finished with 17 points, while Ben Simmons scored a season-high 10. 

“He’s been big, he’s been hooping,” Trendon Watford said of Johnson. “Honestly, he’s just been hooping. … I’m not surprised by it at all. Last year was last year. He obviously heard all the noise and took it with a grain of salt and came back. And now he’s doing what we know CJ can do.” 

Brooklyn (6-9) still needed to navigate some chaos in the final two minutes, even after Watford scored seven consecutive points for the Nets to give them a five-point lead with 38 seconds left.

Brandon Miller hit a jumper and Cody Martin blocked Watford to give Charlotte (5-9) a chance to tie with a 3 in the final seconds.

Miller’s contested heave didn’t hit the rim. 

So the Nets prevailed.

Thomas’ absence was a last-minute surprise, with head coach Jordi Fernandez acknowledging pregame that he thought the star guard was “good” but wanted to see what happened in warm-ups.

Thomas felt the tightness Sunday against the Knicks but played through it in the second half, Fernandez said. 

“He was not feeling good,” Fernandez said, while adding it’s “nothing major” with Thomas, “and we told him that we’re not going to risk, obviously, anything.” 

Johnson, as a result, remained at the center of the Nets offense, recording his sixth game of the year of 20-plus points to match his total from all of last season.

The wing, after being limited by injuries at the start and end of the 2023-24, has been healthy.

He has expanded his scoring avenues by creating opportunities while maintaining his 3-point strength.

And all of that has unfolded while attempting to tune out trade rumors that have followed — and will continue to follow him — throughout the season. 

“Especially as a shooter, rhythm is really important,” Johnson said. “It’s hard to just miss time, come back and think everything’s gonna work out. But you know no matter what, what challenges are thrown, I’m just gonna keep on playing my game and trying to get some wins on the board for us.” 

Johnson hit a pair of jumpers to help build a temporary lead in the second half.

He converted a 3 to put the Nets up 72-63, and then when the Hornets had erased the deficit of their own and took the lead in the fourth, Johnson connected on another shot from beyond the arc to knot the score with 7:15 left.

The 34 points marked his most since Johnson erupted for 38 on March 4, 2022, while with the Suns. 

Early on, though, the game unfolded about as expected for a Nets group missing two starters.

The Hornets jumped out to an 11-2 lead and forced Fernandez to call timeout less than two minutes into the game, and they led by 16 at the seven-minute mark of the second frame.

The Nets clawed back, and though they couldn’t take the lead until early in the second half, when Wilson hit a 3, it prevented their deficit from swelling to an insurmountable total. 

“They did it on their own,” Fernandez said of the Nets’ early deficit. “They know that the beginning was not good. Our physicality was not good. We were giving them too much cushion. … And we got punished for not starting the right way.” 

But even in a rebuilding year, there are still teams the Nets should beat.

Still lower-tier teams the Nets shouldn’t lose against.

And this time, the win kept them alive in the NBA Cup chase, too, with games to follow against the 76ers on Friday and the Magic on Nov. 29. 

Along the way, they figured out a blueprint to survive without their leading scorer, too.