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Julius Randle knew when to step aside, and the Nets were better for it
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- Julius Randle knew when to step aside, and the Nets were better for it
Julius Randle had scored 22 points, and his coach wanted him back on the floor. With the Nets pulling away from the Charlotte Hornets, the veteran forward had a better idea.
Jordi Fernández called for Randle to return late Wednesday when Brooklyn's lead grew to double digits. Randle's message, as Fernández recounted it afterward, was simple.
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Just let them roll.
It was an unusual moment in a 114-104 victory that owed as much to a coach discarding his rotation as it did to the players who replaced it.
"Sometimes you see guys not having it," Fernández said.
Second-year forward Danny Wolf entered early in the third quarter after spending the first seven games outside the rotation. Terance Mann, another reserve who had rarely played, followed later. By the fourth, both were fixtures.
Mann didn't score a point. The veteran missed all four shots. Yet the Nets outscored Charlotte by 11 in his nearly 16 minutes, and by 10 during the fourth quarter he played from start to finish.
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Wolf was a plus-17 in less than 19 minutes, contributing 13 points, five rebounds and three assists.
For Mann, the value was in what didn't unravel. With him and Wolf on the floor throughout the final period, Brooklyn recorded 10 assists on 11 baskets and committed only two turnovers. A team that scored 11 fourth-quarter points against the Knicks Monday scored 34 against Charlotte.
Michael Porter Jr. wasn't surprised by Mann's work. He praised his defensive instincts and communication, then called him "one of my favorite teammates I've ever had."
Porter also credited Mann with encouraging younger teammates from the bench rather than allowing a reduced role to diminish his presence.
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Randle's decision belonged in that same picture. His 22 points were hardly expendable, and Fernández had good reason to call his number. But the group on the floor had earned another possession together, then another. Randle recognized it before the substitution happened.
Fernández called him "selfless."
Whether those minutes carry over is the next test. Egor Demin remains out with a right leg bone bruise for Saturday's road game against the Atlanta Hawks, and Drake Powell is questionable while on G League assignment. Joshua Jefferson, Ben Saraf, Tyler Bilodeau and Grant Nelson are also out on assignment.
Wolf and Mann may not have earned regular minutes just yet, but they've certainly made their case. Now we'll see if Fernández continues to roll with the hot hands.
