Getty Cam Thomas and James Harden of the Nets try to make a play on defense.
It was far from pretty but the Brooklyn Nets scratched out their third straight win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night. The Nets played from behind for most of the contest but were able to come out with a 117-112 victory. Nets superstar Kevin Durant led the way with 27 points in the contest. but the story of the night was Nets rookie shooting guard Cam Thomas who had a career-high 11 points on 4-7 shooting. Thomas who recently scored 46 points for the Nets G-League affiliate the Long Island Nets has proven he has the tools to be a volume scorer in this league. And at 20 years old he already believes he is a better scorer than Durant was at his age.
“Me and KD just be trash-talking about our scoring abilities because I say I’m a better scorer at my age than he was and he doesn’t believe that,” Thomas said after the victory. “He never wants to play me 1-on-1. We play 1-on-1 in shootarounds all of the time, post-ups — I beat him. Don’t tell him that. James just tries to trash-talk me. We are always going back and forth, friendly stuff. I love those dudes, great dudes.”
Cam Thomas and Kevin Durant trash talk about their scoring abilities and Cam claims he’s a better scorer than KD at the age of 20 than KD was
“He never wants to play me one-on-one. We play one-on-one in shootaround all the time, post-ups, I beat him. Don’t tell him that” 😂
The latest Nets news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Nets newsletter here!
Kevin Durant Responds to Cam Thomas
Durant, who was a year younger than Thomas when he was drafted by the Seattle Supersonics had no problem setting the record straight when it comes to him and the Nets rookie.
“Cam is lying. He was lying for sure. I’d definitely beat him 13-5, and those 5-shots that he made, I had turned my back. It was a shoot-around, and I beat him 15-5. It’s an ongoing game so the score don’t start over, you know at the end of the season we’ll tally the points but he is down a lot.” Durant said in response to Thomas.
Durant also jokingly poked fun at the Nets rookie’s career night:
“What was he tonight? Little 4-for-7. You know he feeling himself when he come in here tonight, you know what I mean? Y’all decided to talk to him, I’m sure his boys are going to hit him up on Twitter, send him texts. You know, he’s feeling himself, so he’s going to come in here and fabricate,” Durant said.
Kevin Durant heard what Cam Thomas said earlier about beating him in their 1-on-1 matchups at shootaround and didn’t hold back 😂
*looks at stat sheet* “Little 4-for-7, you know he feeling himself when he come in…he gonna come in here and fabricate”
Steve Nash Praises Cam Thomas’ Performance
Thomas has shown flashes of a player who with time could earn himself consistent minutes in the Nets’ rotation. Especially with his performances in the Summer League and G-League. It has taken a while but against the Cavaliers head coach Steve Nash called his number and Thomas stepped up when his team needed him the most.
“Cam was great. He stepped up with confidence to take shots,” Nash said after the game via “USA Today.”
“I think he is a kid who we all love and think has a bright future but sometimes these early stages of the season, you’re in tight games and it is just difficult with some of the mistakes that are just inevitable with these young guys. Tonight, he really hung in there, made some big shots for us and I thought was really aware defensively.”
With Joe Harris still on the injury list and Jevon Carter continuing to struggle, Thomas could be seeing even bigger minutes in the not-too-distant future. So far, the rookie guard has proven that when his number is called, he will be ready to step up.
READ NEXT: Warriors Star Breaks Silence About Relationship With Nets Kevin Durant