Brooklyn Nets forward Cam Thomas scored 33 points as his team dominated in the second half to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers 130–112 on Friday night. The win snapped a four-game losing run for the Nets and gave them their fourth victory in 18 games.
The Nets, who fell to Miami in overtime on Monday and Portland in a Wednesday game decided it wouldn’t come down to the final possession after losing by two points on a last-second shot by Anfernee Simons.
The first half saw Thomas go 9 for 12 from the field, leading to 20 points. Halftime scoring for him came for the sixth time this season.
With 22 points and 14 boards, Nic Claxton was unstoppable. With a 38-22 third-quarter lead, the Nets cruised past the Lakers thanks to 13 of Spencer Dinwiddie’s 19 points. For the quarter, that was their best point difference of the season.
The Nets had 19 three-pointers, with Thomas, Dinwiddie, and Mikal Bridges each contributing four. Their highest advantage came in the fourth quarter, when they led by 23 points.
The Lakers’ score fell back below.500 at 21-22, despite contributions from LeBron James (24 points, 10 rebounds) and Anthony Davis (26 points, 12 rebounds). Russell scored 20 points for D’Angelo.
As a team, the Lakers have a Western Conference-worst 7-13 record since taking home the first-ever NBA In-Season Tournament trophy.
Despite falling behind by six points early in the third quarter, Brooklyn rallied for an 87-78 lead with a 23-8 run that spanned six minutes. A 12-point spree by the Nets, capped by a 3-pointer by Bridges, put them ahead for the first time at 76-74 with 8 minutes and 9 seconds left in the first quarter.