LAS VEGAS — When the Nets drafted Cameron Thomas, he was billed as instant offense, a microwave scorer with so-so efficiency.
He was as advertised. And then some.
Thomas’ introduction to the professional game came with some bumps and a visible learning curve in Monday’s Las Vegas Summer League opener. But he backed up a tough start with a strong finish, leading a Nets comeback that fell just short 91-84 against Memphis at Cox Pavilion.
“This is my first pro game, so I’m just getting a feel for everything, came off the bench,” said Thomas, who had a team-high 17 points. “So I just had to get a rhythm, get a flow for everything. Once I got a nice rhythm, I felt like I was pretty [comfortable]. Just basketball from there on.”
The Nets fell behind by 16 points in a sloppy, disjointed first half. They committed 10 turnovers and Thomas had just five points on 1 of 7 shooting. He had just a deuce in the third quarter before breaking out for 10 in the final period. Brooklyn stormed ahead to lead with 3 ½ minutes left, but faded late.
“Cam got it going. Carried us with that second unit, him and [Quinndary Weatherspoon],” coach Jordan Ott said. “You see Cam’s skill set; 19 years old against a really good team. … Cam did a pretty good job getting that thing rolling.”
Weatherspoon had 15 points, while Day’Ron Sharpe (eight rebounds, plus-15) looked the part physically.
But Brooklyn’s start was too sloppy to overcome. Memphis’ Desmond Bane had 32 points, while Killian Tillie added another 20. The Nets fell behind by 16 in the second quarter, and shot just 31.3 percent in the first half, 3 of 10 from deep.
“First half was ugly at times. We knew that. That’s why we tried to amp up our pressure. We knew our defense would have to carry us,” Ott said. “We had 10 turnovers in the first half, ended with 18. … Our ball movement got a little bit better. As the game progressed we felt better.”
Alize Johnson (13 points, seven rebounds) and Reggie Perry (game-high dozen boards) were the Nets’ only roster players, and that experience showed. Conspicuously, Nic Claxton isn’t playing in summer league.
“Nic’s been in the gym. Nic’s been working, he’s been with us this whole time,” Ott said. “That was just a discussion, collaborative discussion between him, his people, our people, and they felt the best was don’t play summer league.”
Brooklyn trailed 42-26 with 2:02 left in the half after a Bane free throw, and was still behind 43-33 at the break.
The Nets got within two going into the fourth quarter, and were still down 65-63 after a Sean McDermott layup. They took the lead with a Jordan Bowden 3 and Thomas’ three-point play put them ahead by four.
A Thomas 3 put them up 77-76 with 3:27 to play, but they yielded a 14-4 run.
Still, Thomas’ offensive craftiness bodes well.
“I didn’t know there was gonna be like that wide open with all that space. So, that’s the plus,” Thomas said. “Everything else it was just basketball. … It wasn’t really that much physical, not that much faster. So I felt like I fit in right away. But I just saw so much space, and I was like ‘This is real great.’ ”