CLEVELAND — Lonnie Walker returned to the Nets from an illness Sunday night.
Brooklyn’s sixth man was initially listed as questionable but missed Saturday’s loss to Charlotte.
Walker had previously played through an ankle injury, scoring 19 points in a game against Philadelphia despite limping, and eclipsing that with 21 points in a loss to Detroit due to illness. But Walker, who played left back at the team hotel during Saturday’s loss to the Hornets, was cleared to play Sunday and scored four points in 14 minutes.
“Let’s see how he does,” interim coach Kevin Ollie said of Walker before the Nets’ 120-101 win over the Cavaliers. “He came to the hotel walkthrough. But we’re going to see how he’s doing and see how many minutes he can give us.
“As I said, I trust him and our excellent medical staff to keep Ronnie updated and make sure he is ready to be discharged, but he I know he’s a gamer. He was sick before the game against Detroit and came back and played really well for us. But we know he’s a gamer. I want him to live a long life with this disease and not put him in a place where he could harm himself further with his illness.”
Cam Johnson returned to Brooklyn, still nursing a sprained right ankle. He had missed the last three games due to an injury sustained when he landed on Kyle Lowry’s foot.
Johnson has made enough progress to work on his on-court duties, but it is unclear whether he will be able to participate in full practice when the team returns to the HSS Training Center on Tuesday.
“Yeah, like I say, it’s a day-to-day thing with Cam, but how is he responding to the treatment,” Ollie said. “I know he’s been on the court a little bit … and probably seeing how he reacts. It’s just day-to-day. I know he’s been on the court a little bit…and we’ll probably see how he reacts. It’s just day-to-day. I can’t guess whether I’ll be able to make it in time for practice. That’s not correct for me to guess.
“But like I always say, I’m going to rely on the players and the medical staff to make the right decisions. And when he gets out there and he’s ready, the full Cam Johnson comes out.” , we expect them to play their best basketball in this small home area we have left.”
Mikal Bridges had a strong game on both ends of the court, breaking out of his recent slump. The struggling wing scored 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including 5-of-8 from behind the arc. But he added five assists, five boards, and a game-high three steals.
“We’ve got to be better on both fronts, be more efficient, guard, rebound. Do everything,” Bridges said. “So just keep going and get ready for the next one and do the same thing.”
Bridges averaged just 16.0 points on below-average splits of .367/.288/.677.
The Nets shot 53.2 percent from deep, a season-high 51.4 percent, going 18-of-35.
He made 18-of-20 from the free-throw line, the Nets’ first 50/50/90 shooting game of the season.
All-Star Donovan Mitchell missed the game against Cleveland with a bruised left knee, and big man Evan Mobley is out indefinitely with a sprained left ankle.
Ty Jerome is out with a right ankle injury, and Max Strus is out with a right knee strain. tristan thompson He was suspended for violating the league’s drug policy.
