Yuta Watanabe closed out 2022 with arguably the best defensive performance of his career. He woke up to start 2023 back atop the NBA 3-point leaderboard.

The Japanese forward had 11 points, five rebounds and a career-high five steals off the bench Saturday against Charlotte. It was the most steals in a game for any Net this season, and the first five-steal game for them off the bench since Caris LeVert on Feb. 8, 2019 versus Chicago.

“He’s doing a little bit [of] everything,” Jacque Vaughn said of Watanabe. “You see the ability for guys to get the ball to him and him shoot the basketball, which we have total confidence in it. And now he’s getting his hands on balls, whether that’s being in the paint and plugging the paint, coming back and tipping balls.

“Being around the basketball and being in a good position, great drive to the rim, which was aggressive. So he’s grown as a basketball player. He’s getting more comfortable knowing when he’s going to get into the game and who he’s going to play with, so I think that’s helped him as well.”

Watanabe also qualified for the league leaderboards again, and retook the top spot in 3-point percentage at 51.4 percent. The time he missed due to a hamstring injury had knocked him from the ranks of the qualified, until his two 3-pointers again gave him the edge over Phoenix’s Damion Lee (49.3 percent).

Watanabe is shooting 11 of 19 (57.9 percent) from the right corner, and a misprint-like 15 of 21 (71.4 percent) from the left. But Saturday his aggressive drives bode well, because defenses are now recognizing his deep shooting prowess.

“Yeah, obviously they start taking away my 3s, so I’ve got to start finding other ways to finish and I think I’ve been improved in that I can drive and then I can finish,” Watanabe said. “So I’ve just got to keep working on it. And then I stopped doing that then I think defenders are not going to know what I’m going to do. I’m going to still keep shooting 3s, all kinds of stuff. So it was it was good to see myself back … finishing around the rim.”

Joe Harris has missed four straight games with a sore knee but seems on pace to return Monday at home versus the Spurs. After getting treatment Sunday, he was officially listed as probable.

“Good progress for Joe going forward, so look forward to seeing him when we get back,”  Vaughn said. “Yeah, I am hopeful for San Antonio. … I texted with him and he was feeling better.”

Nic Claxton blocked a career-high-tying six shots for a second straight game. He’s the first player to register six blocks in consecutive games since Brook Lopez in January 2020, and the first Net to do so since Shawn Bradley in November 1996.