Dorian Finney-Smith shakes off slow start to season to help Nets when needed most

On a night when the Nets were down in size, Dorian Finney-Smith was ready to carry the team for 40 minutes or more if Nic Claxton was ruled out.Although Claxton did make his first start against the Grizzlies on Monday after nursing a hamstring injury from the preseason, the Nets were without Noah Clowney, Ben Simmons and Day’Ron Sharpe.It was a night the Nets needed more from their ninth-year forward and he delivered with 17 points, six rebounds, three assists, and a steal to help the Nets earn their fourth win of the season — 106-104 over the Grizzlies at Barclays Center.“He’s been a dawg, he’s reliable, he’s healthy,” Claxton said of Finney-Smith after the win.“He guards 1 through 5 for us night in and night out.

And we just need guys like that, especially now with us having injuries.He said it tonight, he was ready to play 40-plus if I wasn’t gonna play.

So it’s definitely — you’ve got to tip your hat off.”Eight of Finney-Smith’s points came in the fourth quarter, including a crucial three-point dagger that broke a tie at 101 with barely under a minute to play and earned the Nets the lead for the remainder of the game.He shot five of eight from deep and is the second player in team history to record five 3-pointers and five offensive boards in a single game.The last to accomplish the feat was Kyrie Irving on Dec.

9, 2022.The previous three games only saw Finney-Smith score as high as nine points.“Just my team, man.They still trust in me even though I’ve been struggling the last couple games, they’ve still been telling me to shoot the ball every time I’m open,” Finney-Smith said on Monday.

“It feels good when the guys around you have your back even when you’re not making shots.”The third-year Net realized he had to use his legs a little bit more on Monday, as they have been tired from guarding just about everyone from point guards like Jamal Murray to forwards such as Jaren Jackson Jr.“Doe [Finney-Smith] kept shoot...