TLC rises to occasion off the bench

There weren’t many individual bright spots for the Nets in their 134-110 playoffopening loss to Toronto, but Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot was one.

The young French wing scored a teamhigh 26 points off the bench, in relief of foulriddled Rodions Kurucs. He tied Mirza Teletovic’s 2014 team playoff record for 3-pointers made off the bench by making 6 of 9.

“We know what TLC is capable of. We know he’s a great shooter and slasher, as well,” Caris LeVert said. “His IQ is growing each and every game defensively, and he’s just being more consistent. He’s very confident out there. We’re telling him to continue shooting the basketball regardless of makes or misses. We trust in him.”

The Raptors adjusted their defense to take the ball out of LeVert’s hands and force him into being a passer. LuwawuCabarrot picked up the scoring slack.

“[LeVert’s] ability to see the game and see his teammates has really grown, and it allows guys like TLC to be rewarded for it,” interim coach Jacque Vaughn said. “TLC gave us great minutes, we ended up starting him in the second half because of Rodi’s foul trouble, but you see him playing with an incredible amount of confidence.”

With the Nets playing without Kevin Durant, Taurean Prince, Wilson Chandler and Nic Claxton, Luwawu-Cabarrot has been forced into playing some stretch four. Kurucs committing five first-half fouls left the French wing having to do it again.

“I’ve just been in the weight room. I’ve put on some muscle. It’s about playing basketball. If I’m able to play defense at power forward and, that’s the way to help the team, that’s what I’m going to do,” said Luwawu-Cabarrot, who joined the Nets after camp on a two-way deal, and has emerged during the restart.

“Nobody knows how much I’ve worked, how much I’ve come through, how I got waived, signed a two-way, had to fight my way back into the league. It’s just all the work I’ve put in during quarantine and during the past two years and all the confidence [I got] throughout these workouts. I like the team and my teammates, so, this is big-time.”

Joe Harris, picked up four years ago by the Nets after being waived, appreciates the journey Luwawu-Cabarrot has taken to get to this point.

“Tim is a great player, now he just has more of an opportunity to play and show what he can do,” Harris said. “This is what happens. This is the nature of the NBA.”