Thomas' Late Three Lifts Nets over Pelicans

Brooklyn gets back in the win column.

Nov 11, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas (24) dribbles against New Orleans Pelicans center Yves Missi (21) during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Facing a two-game skid, the Brooklyn Nets defeated a depleted New Orleans Pelicans squad 107-105 in the final of three straight road games.

Following Brooklyn's narrow loss to the Boston Celtics, a game in which Ben Simmons came off the bench for the first time this season, the two-time All-Star reflected on Jordi Fernandez's decision.

"Whatever the team needs me to do, whether it’s come off the bench or starting, I gotta do," Simmons said via Erik Slater. "That’s what coach wants right now. It is what it is.”

The Nets came out sluggish offensively against the Pelicans, and what the team needed was a facilitator. Simmons answered the call. Seconds after entering the ballgame, Brooklyn's offense looked completely different. Fernandez's crew only converted one basket through four minutes but finally took the lid off the basket behind some crafty dimes from Simmons.

When the ball was in his hands, it moved gracefully. Simmons' vision was on full display as he threaded the needle to Jalen Wilson and Nic Claxton down low before beaming one to Cam Thomas for three. The sequence was only a glimpse of his dealing and served as the first three of his 10 assists in the half.

Unfortunately for the Nets, when Simmons was on the bench, there was a total shortage of scoring. Without him on the floor, Brooklyn resorted to isolation and catch-and-shoot opportunities, neither of which garnered much success. Thomas, Dennis Schröder and Cam Johnson combined for 23 points on 8-of-22 from the field, but many of the misses were a result of poor shot selection.

And that's when Brandon Ingram took over.

Time and again down the court, Ingram faded away in and around the mid-range, barely even hitting the rim on a majority of his attempts. Once he rattled a few in, Ingram began stepping behind the arc, two of which he drilled. While hero ball wasn't working for the Nets, it was fueling the Pelicans' gritty first-half performance. Down Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum and Dejounte Murray, Ingram exploded for 22 points in 19 minutes, lifting New Orleans to a 56-54 halftime advantage.

Both Simmons' orchestrating and Ingram's scoring cooled off out of the break. The former not only didn't start the second half but spent the first six minutes on the bench. Brooklyn once again relied on one-on-one play and perimeter shooting to keep things close but suffered similar outcomes.

Johnson added another bomb from deep, as did Wilson, Ziaire Williams and Noah Clowney, but Thomas and Schröder remained scoreless in the third quarter.

In place of Ingram, first-round rookie Yves Missi stepped up. Amid the Nets' continued interior defensive woes, the near-seven-footer posted 12 points, including eight off dunks alone. The Nets' toughness prevented the Pelicans from building on an 8-0 run, but Brooklyn still found itself down four heading into the final stanza.

As did the previous two acts of the Nets' three-game road trip, the contest once again went down to the wire. Brooklyn faced a six-point deficit with seven minutes to play when a Fernandez timeout turned the momentum. Out of the huddle, Williams soared in for a put-back lay-in, sparking an 8-2 run and knotting the score with five minutes to play.

Thomas buried a wing three to hand the Nets a one-point lead, their first since midway through the third quarter. Brandon Boston Jr. immediately responded with one of his own to put New Orleans back on top.

Johnson slashed his way into the paint and finished a difficult drive to cut the Pelicans' lead to two, and Thomas took care of the rest. With just 32.2 seconds on the game clock, the 23-year-old stepped back and effortlessly sunk a 25-footer, delivering a one-point lead and an eventual game-winner.

The matchup didn't conclude without dramatics, as Thomas only converted one of his two attempts at the charity stripe to close out the win. His blunder didn't cost Brooklyn, who perfectly defended Javonte Green's attempt to out-do Thomas' clutchness to close out the victory.

Now sitting at 5-6, the Nets return home for a rematch with the Boston Celtics on Nov. 13 ahead of Brooklyn's inaugural NBA Cup game against Mikal Bridges and the New York Knicks on Nov. 15.

To access the final box score from the Brooklyn Nets' win over the New Orleans Pelicans, click here.

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