Nets’ Cameron Johnson makes NBA history with unreal turnover-free streak

NEW ORLEANS – After a slow start to the season, the Nets’ Cam Johnson is starting to look like himself again. Actually a record-breaking version of himself.

Not only has the Nets winger rediscovered his usual shooting style, but he has also begun to advance the ball with a turnover-free streak that has set new standards in the league.

Johnson has not turned the ball over in any of the last seven games, making him the first player in NBA history to go without a ball for at least 30 minutes in seven straight games.

On Monday in New Orleans, he’ll get a chance to extend his record to eight in a row – and further increase his value with both the Nets and the NBA.

“Some of it just depends on how the game goes. Just don’t endanger the ball, just play,” said Johnson, who had 23 points in 31 turnover-free minutes and hit 4 of 7 from long range on Saturday in Cleveland. “But when you come back and have a few turnovers in a game, I just shake it off.

“And I don’t think about that out there. That’s not it [thinking] “I can’t turn the ball over at all.” I can’t turn it over at all.’ I’m just trying to play right and that happens sometimes. But honestly, I don’t even focus on sales. I try not to, but I don’t think about it.”

One of several Nets veterans mentioned in trade reports, Johnson became the first in NBA history to have multiple three-pointers, assists and no turnovers in six straight games.

Johnson hasn’t lost a turnover since Oct. 27, when he lost the ball out of bounds with 8:44 left in the third quarter in a win over Milwaukee. Since then, he has provided 25 assists without a single giveaway.

Attacking closeouts and driving the ball hard, Johnson is enjoying his best performance since arriving in Brooklyn.

“He’s a very good basketball player,” coach Jordi Fernandez said. “He knows that one of his superpowers is shooting the basketball. He takes a few shots, they start getting really close to him, and he makes the right read every time.

“He doesn’t force the issue when he shoots hard or when he’s hard-fought. Then he drives, scores at the rim or makes the next play for his teammates. So he’s just a very good basketball player.”

Good and it keeps getting better.

Johnson averaged 14.5 points on a .408/.360/.846 shooting distribution through the first six games of the season. But over the last four games, he’s taken his game to new levels, scoring 21.8 points on red-hot shooting splits of .554/.419/.857.

“A lot of it happens around the offense. The defense, getting into the game, tackling, guarding and feeling the energy circulating throughout the team,” Johnson said. “And so it becomes easier. The pressure is taken off the offense. You play in the flow. You find a rhythm.

“But I just try to come in every game and do my job, no matter what that looks like. And for someone who shoots a lot of threes, some days can be better than others. So just ride the waves while you can and focus on the next play, the next shot, and your results will be the results.”

Johnson has taken a similar approach to trade rumors, which makes sense given the Nets’ rebuild.

He is making $23.6 million this season, or 16.8 percent of the salary cap. But Johnson’s deal is team-friendly and actually de-escalates, making him even more valuable as the cap increases.

Next season, it drops to under $21.6 million, which is just 13.95 percent of the cap. and he will earn $23.6 million last year, a modest 13.89 percent.

Some criticized Nets general manager Sean Marks for not moving Johnson in the summer and sticking with a supposedly high price tag of two first-round picks.

Johnson has done nothing but increase his value since then.