MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Ziaire Williams left Memphis as a castoff, a salary waste sent to Brooklyn. He returned victorious, leading the Nets to a 119-106 victory on Wednesday.

“Oh man, it feels great. I was really looking forward to this, man,” Williams said. “It was a strange feeling to be on the other side. It’s still all love, yeah I miss those guys. But no, I was definitely happy to be able to talk a little bit and, more importantly, get the win.”

Williams scored 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting and had a career-high four steals, turning three of them into fast-break dunks and the fourth into an assist on Dennis Schroder’s huge 3-pointer in the fourth quarter.

“I’m happy for him, because I know what it feels like to come back to a place you’ve been for a while and he’s no longer part of this club. He made a statement and I’m happy for him,” said coach Jordi Fernández. “He played very, very, very hard. He made winning play after winning play after winning play. And that’s all I can say, he was a big part of this victory.”

Williams had been a 2021 lottery pick for Memphis, but was traded to the Nets due to a shaky jump shot.

But he’s 9 of 16 from 3-point range so far this season and his defense has been key.

“Yeah, it’s always… we always want to win against a team when you’ve just been traded from that team and you’re playing against your old team. We took it seriously and got that win too,” Schroder said. “But he’s just putting the effort and energy into the defensive end. “He is one of the best defenders in this league.”

Schroder scored a Nets career-high 33 points. The point guard is the first player in franchise history with 25 or more points, five or more assists and five or more three-pointers in three straight games.

Sophomore wing Jalen Wilson scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting with seven rebounds and finished with a career-best +25.

The Nets forced 22 turnovers, scoring 31 points off turnovers.

Ben Simmons returned to the lineup after sitting out Tuesday. He had eight points, three assists and three rebounds, but committed five fouls in 24:31 in what is an ongoing problem.

Nic Claxton was rested on the second consecutive night on Wednesday. Trendon Watford (hamstring) and Day’Ron Sharpe (hamstring) were also out.

The Nets have committed the most fouls and given up the most free throws in the league, but they improved on Wednesday. They were called for 10 fouls in the first quarter but only 15 the rest of the night.

“In the first half we were in a good place, but we gave up 20 free throws. Then in that second half, 44 points were allowed, only nine free throws,” Fernández said.

Ja Morant (thigh) and Zach Edey (calf) played for Memphis after being questionable.