Royce O'Neale brings needed energy to Nets 

Dorian Finney-Smith was back in the starting lineup Friday night against the Orlando Magic, but the Nets had to still be feeling good about what Royce O’Neale had given them in his absence.

O’Neale, who started the first 52 games with the Nets following an offseason deal with Utah, was relegated to the bench after the trade deadline shakeup that brought in four new starters for Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

But with Finney-Smith out Wednesday with a bruised wrist, Nets coach Jacque Vaughn inserted O’Neale back into his staring five against the Detroit Pistons. O’Neale responded by giving exactly the kind of performance the Nets needed to get an important win.

Playing 37 minutes, the most court time he has seen since Jan. 12, O'Neale scored 15 points, grabbed seven rebounds, dished out eight assists and blocked two shots.

O’Neale said he found out right before the Detroit game that he was going to be with the starting group.

“I always say whether I’m starting or coming off the bench, my game is not going to change,” O’Neale said. “I do whatever I have to do for us to win. Whether playmaking or scoring or just playing defense. So, I mean, starting or not, that’s who I am.”

“After we found out about Dorian not being able to play, we had to go to Royce and get him ready and prepared," Vaughn said. "And boy, was he prepared. He hit some big shots for us."

The Nets coach said O’Neale’s versatility and the fact that he can handle the ball gave the Nets a lot of options against a team like Detroit.

“Royce being with that group gives us an additional ball-handler….We were able to just be in attack mode, so a big part of that is having multiple ball-handlers against a team like Detroit which plays two bigs.

The win Wednesday over the Pistons put the Nets in a position to lock up the sixth and final guaranteed playoff spot Friday night. A Nets win over Orlando or a Miami Heat loss to the Washington Wizards would clinch the No. 6 spot.

Vaughn, however, was not thinking about depending on other teams.  His message to the team heading into the Orlando game was not to look ahead.

“Be present,” Vaughn said. “Nothing else matters — a week from now, tomorrow. Be present in today’s game. Like, we haven’t put four aggressive, in-sync quarters together yet. It’s a great challenge for us to do that tonight.”

Notes & quotes. The Nets did not sign Moses Brown after his second 10-day deal expired. Instead they converted David Duke Jr.’s two-way contract to a standard NBA contract, meaning the second-year player is eligible for the playoffs. “It’s dope, man,” said Duke, who was not eligible to play last postseason because he was a two-way player. “Being a part of the team last season and just seeing the atmosphere, I was just itching. Man, if I can even tough the floor during warmups…..Whatever chance I get, opportunity-wise, I’m ready. I’m hungry.”

By Barbara Barker

barbara.barker@newsday.commeanbarb

Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.