Before tipoff against the 76ers on January 4, the Nets announced that Cam Thomas had suffered a new left hamstring strain and would be reevaluated after a 10-day, six-game West Coast trip.
The Nets, who played their first home game back at Barclays Center on Tuesday night and lost 99-95 to the Knicks, didn't make any major changes to their leading scorer, but Thomas said there was “no contact” and “no on-court activity.” ” he said. ” said coach Jordi Fernandes.
“He's done a great job and everything looks good,” Fernandes said.
Thomas, who is averaging a career-high 24.7 points, injured his hamstring during a routine step-back against the Warriors on Nov. 25 and missed 13 games since then.
The 23-year-old only played in two games before returning, suffering a second hamstring injury on Jan. 2 against the Bucks. He has missed 10 games since then, and the Nets are 1-9 in that time.
“I think it was discomfort,” Fernandez said of the Jan. 4 injury. “Because at some point you can see the difference between the first half and the second half in terms of energy and efficiency. But you also think, 'I haven't played in a while, so it probably doesn't feel as fresh,' so I don't know.” . I don't know, but he did a good job coming back and getting ready to play.
“He got off to a great start in both games, Orlando, and was able to get back, so both games were very efficient in the first stint he played. And now this injury – I feel bad for him, because obviously we want CT with us, and he was doing a great job of scoring efficiently and, you know, us. We want to have him by our side every day and we will continue to have him by our side, but not on the court. But we know he will be back soon.”
Mikal Bridges was introduced to the Knicks' starting lineup on Tuesday and received a welcome back graphic. This was his first game in Brooklyn after being traded to Manhattan in a highly successful summer trade.
Bridges scored 10 points, which was a significant decrease from his 43-point total in back-to-back games against the Nets at the Garden in November.
D'Angelo Russell, who was listed as having injury management issues with a strained left hamstring, had 23 points and 10 assists, his second 20/10 game this season and his first with the Nets.
He also tied a career high with three blocked shots.
Ben Simmons, who was listed as a possible participant, was absent due to illness.
Bojan Bogdanovic (recovering from left leg injury), Maxwell Lewis (left tibia fracture), Trendon Watford (left hamstring strain), Ziare Williams (left ankle sprain) also did not play Tuesday.
