Nets Cam Thomas cant wait for Madison Square Garden redemption

Cam Thomas says he doesn’t treat the Knicks differently than any other team, or the Garden any differently than any other building. But his play says something else. Rather than wilt under the limelight, the young Nets guard blooms into a star every time he’s on the stage of the World’s Most Famous Arena.Friday marked Thomas’ second 40-point performance at the Garden in just over six months, and the Nets could use a third in Sunday’s rematch. “Yeah, he’s not afraid of the bright lights,” Nets coach Jordi Fernandez said of Thomas.

“And I can tell you that from the first shot he took [on Friday].And his teammates knew that we had to find him.

I tried to do my best to help him, to find him.Obviously, they put OG [Anunoby] on him, which is a very good defender and very physical, and he still found a way to score. “The good thing is you have another chance to do it again against the same team.

They’re going to feel the same way and then he’s going to have to come back and perform again.So amazing performance by C.T., and very happy, because from the beginning, he kept us alive.” Thomas poured in 43 points on Friday to outscore Knicks star Jalen Brunson.

He shot 16-for-22 and a scalding 7-for-10 from deep, only to watch Brunson hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with just six seconds left. “It’s dope, one of the top guards in the league.You always try to play good against matchups like that,” said Thomas, who didn’t take the final shot for the Nets. With no timeouts, they had to push the ball and ended up with a Dennis Schroder miss at the buzzer, Thomas never getting a chance to answer. But he’ll get his chance to answer in Sunday’s rematch, with Brooklyn playing without Nic Claxton and having lost four of their last five. “Just staying aggressive,” Thomas shrugged.

“They were guarding hard, switching, switching, multiple defenders on me, blitzing.So I just had to figure it out.

But I just really just wanted to come out,...