When the Nets go for a season-best fourth straight win on Thursday night in Brooklyn, they could have their leading scorer back.
Cam Thomas was listed as probable on Wednesday.
He has missed the previous nine games with a sprained left ankle after putting up a team-high 26.9 points per game prior to the injury.
His return would provide a boost for a Nets team that won’t be going to Las Vegas, or even the quarterfinals, of the NBA In-Season Tournament, thanks to their elimination Tuesday night.
Though the team was disappointed about getting knocked out, it came after their third consecutive victory, this one over the Raptors.
Each of those wins has come at Barclays Center, where the Nets will look to continue their streak Thursday against Charlotte, which is 5-11 and losers of six of its past eight games.
“That’s what matters,’’ Nic Claxton said of the regular season following Tuesday’s win. “We’ve just got to keep protecting home court, keep rolling, keep [taking it] game-by-game. We’ve got Charlotte on Thursday, so we’ve just got to continue this flow that we’re in and hopefully get some players back [from injury]. Keep this thing going.”
Thomas has been making progress towards his return, as has Dennis Smith Jr. (back). Smith was listed as questionable.
Without them, as well as Ben Simmons (who will be out again Thursday with a left lower-back nerve impingement), the Nets have managed to match their longest winning streak of the young season.
And part of it is improved results in Brooklyn.
Their success at home is at least partially due to scheduling.
They dropped their first three games at Barclays Center to Cleveland and Eastern Conference powerhouses Boston and Milwaukee.
Wins in six of their next seven home games followed, including victories over the Clippers and Orlando, before the lone other defeat to the 76ers.
And their current streak features wins against Miami and Toronto, both — like the Nets — in the mix to compete for a playoff spot.
“It’s fun to win some games at home,” Mikal Bridges said. “There’s no better feeling than to win at home. It sucks when you lose at home. It’s about time we start winning [here]. We have to keep it going.’’
Following the Hornets’ visit, Orlando comes to Barclays before a quick Nets trip to Atlanta then another home game against the dreadful Wizards.
Those are all winnable games prior to the start of a five-game West Coast trip that begins Dec. 11 at Sacramento.