Dorian Finney-Smith made his return to the court Sunday, and to the Nets starting lineup.
He had missed the prior four games with a sprained left ankle.
The veteran power forward finished with nine points, four rebounds and was plus-2 in 30 minutes, often matched up with former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“It was tough. Just trying to get my rhythm. I’m moving a little step slower, but I got my teammates behind me who are telling me to keep going. And they miss me out there, so it was definitely fun being out there,” Finney-Smith said. “I got a tech, too. C’mon, man. I don’t even know how I got that tech.”
The Nets came into Sunday’s tilt against the red-hot Bucks a plus-56 with Finney-Smith on the floor, by far the best on the team.
The next closest had been a plus-10.
“We’re great when he’s on the floor, we’re great when he is dressing and he’s part of the team,” Nets coach Jordi Fernandez said. “He always keeps everybody engaged when he’s on the bench, he talks, he supports his teammates on the court.
“His production is great, he’s been shooting the three well, and I want him to keep shooting. He makes winning plays on both ends, and all those little things are important. He’s a veteran, and everybody is just more comfortable when he’s on the court, you know? And all that combined just makes us a better team.”
The Nets used a unique starting lineup — Finney-Smith, Cam Johnson, Nic Claxton, Keon Johnson and Dennis Schroder — for the 10th straight game.
That extended the longest streak in team history and the longest in the NBA this season, per Elias.
Schroder (34 points, 11 assists, no turnovers) became the only player in the NBA this season with a game of at least 30 points and 10 assists with zero turnovers, and just the fifth in Nets history.
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Claxton had a season-high 21 points, 10 boards, four assists, three steals and two blocks.
It’s his first game this season with multiple blocks and steals.
“I’m just getting my flow back,” Claxton said. “That’s just me playing more games. My body, everything is just starting to come together. I need to be aggressive for us, especially right now with Cam [Thomas] being out and us missing some scoring.”
Noah Clowney also dressed after missing the prior six games with a sprained ankle.
He’d initially been listed as questionable.
“That tells you that he really wants to get back. And obviously he is completely healthy. And he’s able to be back with a team, but also tells you that he cares and he wants to be with a group,” said Fernandez. “He was playing well when the sprain happened, and now he wants to right away be with us with his teammate. So happy that he’s dressing.”
The second-year power forward was a healthy DNP.
“I never said that I would play both [Clowney and Finney-Smith],” Fernandez said. “Obviously, I’m not gonna run them through the ground because that would not be responsible on my end. But yeah, they’re ready to play pretty much regular minutes if we or myself as a coaching staff decide to play them.”
