The Nets lost the one player they couldn’t afford to lose.
Cam Thomas was forced out of Wednesday’s 100-93 victory over the Clippers in the third quarter, and didn’t return.
Now the question is when will he?
The shorthanded Nets rallied to win against a star-studded team that includes ex-Net James Harden, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. Lonnie Walker IV led the Nets with a team-high 21 points.
But the sellout crowd of 17,933 at Barclays Center let out a gasp when the high-scoring Thomas went down, immediately turning their attention from booing their former star Harden to worrying about their current budding one.
Already playing without three starters in center Nic Claxton, forward Cam Johnson and point guard Ben Simmons (the latter suffering a hip injury on Monday), now Brooklyn had to see Thomas writhing on the floor in obvious pain.
The 22-year-old Thomas came into the evening seventh in the league in scoring at 28.7 points per game, and had 14 against the Clippers when calamity hit.
Or to be more precise, P.J. Tucker did.
With 8:40 left in the third quarter, Thomas rebounded a Russell Westbrook miss and started dribbling.
After the Nets brought the ball up and Thomas went to make a move in the lane, Tucker stuck out his leg and tripped him.
The Clippers forward was whistled for a foul with 8:33 remaining and sent Thomas sprawling to the court with an ugly-looking injury.
Thomas left the game and was helped to the Nets locker room barely putting any pressure on the injured ankle.
It was a worrisome sight for the Nets.
Mikal Bridges called him a “certified bucket” and their best scorer, while Spencer Dinwiddie acknowledged the team would only go as far as Thomas, Bridges and Simmons would take it.
Now two are out, with Johnson and Claxton as well.
The Nets trailed 21-13 after a horrid first quarter that saw them shoot just 27.3 percent from the floor and 1 of 10 from behind the arc.
It was their worst opening period since Jan. 27, 2018 at Minnesota, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Still trailing 49-46 in the opening seconds of the third quarter, the Nets used an 11-3 run to take the lead.
Walker hit a 3-pointer off a Dinwiddie feed to put Brooklyn ahead 57-52 with 7:08 remaining in the period.
They briefly fell behind 71-69 on an Ivica Zubac tip-in with 1:19 left in the third.
But six unanswered points spanning the third and fourth — capped by shaky free-throw shooter Day’Ron Sharpe making a pair of foul shots 16 seconds into the final period — put the Nets up for good.
They extended the cushion to 89-79, and closed out the game in style.
George had 24 for the Clippers. The Nets held Harden to just a dozen.
Harden is going through teams like Elizabeth Taylor went through husbands.
He forced his way out of Houston, then demanded a trade from Brooklyn to Philadelphia after tiring of Kyrie Irving’s availability issues in 2022. But he forced a move from the 76ers in the wake of a spat with GM Daryl Morey.
The Nets crowd booed Harden during introductions and nearly every time he touched the ball, chanting, “Quitter,” “No Heart,” and, of course, “Daryl Morey.”
Bridges had 10 points while playing his 400th consecutive regular-season game, third-longest all time.