OKLAHOMA CITY — A quick look at Gerald Wallace’s stat line in the Nets’ 110-93 win over the Thunder last night would make one think he didn’t make a huge contribution.
But despite finishing with six points, four rebounds and two assists, Wallace’s defense against Kevin Durant was a big lift for the Nets, after the versatile forward returned to the lineup after sitting out Monday’s 104-73 blowout loss to the Spurs with a sore left knee.
“Gerald Wallace is a monster,” interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said. “You want to talk about something that wasn’t there against San Antonio? Gerald Wallace, because he’s kind of our heart because of the way he plays, so it’s not easy for us to play without Gerald Wallace.”
Durant may have finished with 27 points on 11-for-17 shooting, but he had to work for every one of them with Wallace constantly getting a hand in his face.
“Gerald did as good of a job as you can do [guarding Durant],” Carlesimo said.
* The Nets got back Wallace, but were without key reserves C.J. Watson (sore right knee) and Jerry Stackhouse (sore right hamstring) after both picked up injuries in Monday’s loss.
But the Nets got a boost in Watson’s absence from rookie Tyshawn Taylor, who gave them more than nine minutes without a turnover. After a rough three-minute stint in the second quarter that saw Carlesimo quickly go back to Deron Williams, the rookie had several good minutes in the fourth to allow Williams to get a break before coming in for the game’s final stretch.
“Our bench gave us a great lift,” Carlesimo said. “Tyshawn gave us some big minutes. His minutes in the second half were obviously a little better, but in the fourth quarter he gave us some really big minutes and we were able to get our starts a couple minutes of rest.”
* Durant picked up his first-ever ejection in the final minutes, earning a pair of technical fouls from referee Danny Crawford with 1:57 left after Durant took exception with an offensive foul call on Kendrick Perkins and then continued to complain.
“I told him it was a bad call,” Durant told reporters afterward.