Nets bench comes up big in Larkin’s absence

After missing four games with a concussion, point guard Shane Larkin is listed as probable to return Wednesday against Dallas. If he does, he’ll come back to a second unit that — despite Brooklyn’s struggles — is playing its best basketball of the season.

With no draft picks and their hands tied from a personnel perspective, the Nets’ bench largely consists of lowrisk fliers such as Larkin and Andrea Bargnani. Even without Larkin, the bench outscored the Bulls’ reserves 3832 in Monday’s win.

Bargnani and Wayne Ellington have led the bench’s recent surge, with Ellington scoring a seasonhigh 13 points against the Bulls and bringing energy every time he stepped on the court.

“Our bench did a great job of coming in, keeping the energy high, and responding to runs,’’ center Brook Lopez said, praising the work of El lington and Willie Reed, who added career highs of 11 points and five boards in just 12:50 on the court.

“It’s a huge plus for us, obviously. I’m just stating facts, but having them come in like that every night, you see Willie, the energy he brings to the game night in and night out,” Lopez said. “We just need more plays like that and more players like that as we continue to go through the season.’’

Ellington — who hit a seasonhigh three 3pointers — has been at his best lately not settling for jumpers but putting the ball on the floor. Averaging just four points per game through his first 22 games on .361 shooting, he has bumped that up to 10.2 points on .435 from the floor over his last five games.

“I thought Wayne and Willie off the bench were huge [Monday],’’ said coach Lionel Hollins.

Since coming back from his hamstring injury, Bargnani has given Hollins a reli able scoring option off the bench. He mustered just 5.9 points per game on .410 shooting before his absence, but he is averaging 12.4 points on 50 percent from the floor in the seven games since. Even bereft of Larkin, thirdstring point guard Donald Sloan has given Brooklyn more than most expected.

“For me, any chance I get to go out there and show them what I can do — I know myself, personally, what I can do — but to let Brooklyn know what I can do, the coaching staff and upper management, every time I hit the court to let them know what they have,’’ said Sloan, who has a 41 assisttoturnover ratio in Larkin’s absence.

Mikhail Prokhorov’s ONEXIM Group has bought out Bruce Ratner’s Forest City Enterprises (and other investors), taking over 100 percent ownership of the Nets and Barclays Center.