Nets’ Trendon Watford shines with D’Angelo Russell out, ball in his hands

The Nets were without starting point guard D’Angelo Russell for the second straight game in Monday’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks at Barclays Center.

However, forward Ziaire Williams was available after missing Saturday’s 108-103 loss to the Indiana Pacers because of right hamstring tightness.

Russell, who’s averaged 13.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.2 steals across 25 appearances for Brooklyn this season, has been battling right ankle soreness. The veteran guard was held out of Saturday’s road matchup for precautionary reasons, according to head coach Jordi Fernandez.

Monday marked Russell’s 15th absence since he returned to Brooklyn in December. The Nets, who were 14-32 in games without Russell this season, were tied with the Philadelphia 76ers for the fifth-best NBA Draft lottery odds entering the night.

The Nets will finish the week with two home games against the Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Clippers before facing the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena on Saturday.

Of course, Russell’s absence meant more playmaking opportunities for point forward Trendon Watford, who averaged 14.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and three assists per game over his last five appearances entering Monday while shooting 51% from the field, 36% from 3-point range and 67% from the free throw line. He averaged 24.3 minutes per game over that span.

“I mean, give him a lot of credit for the minutes he’s played, for how efficient he was, and for his leadership and his voice. He was locked in the whole game,” Fernandez said. “And he deserves all this, every single one of his minutes and the points. And I’m happy for him, because when you’ve been heard and have been a little up and down health wise. Now we get to see Trendon have a good game.”

Watford was a standout performer in the Nets’ recent back-to-back games against the Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. While he was ejected late in regulation in Thursday’s meeting, he enjoyed what was arguably his strongest performance in a Nets uniform in Saturday’s loss, finishing with 26 points and five rebounds in 30 minutes.

“I was just super locked in,” Watford said. “I feel like we would’ve won that last game if I didn’t get ejected, so I just wanted to be there for my team [on Saturday] and just lock in. And like I said, just be out there for them… I just wanted to be out there and be as impactful as I can.”

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