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| Joe scored 34 points–the most of his Nets career–with an overall career-high eight three-pointers |
Different game, same story. With Brook Lopez, Deron Williams, Andrei Kirilenko, and Jason Terry all out due to injury, the Nets continued their losing ways by colossally blowing a first half double-digit lead in the third quarter and eventually falling to the Pistons earlier this afternoon at Barclays. Brooklyn, as per usual, started off the game well, scoring the first six points and building a ten-point lead right before the first half ended.
Then, in a unfortunate series of events, Paul Pierce–with the option to hold the ball for the last shot of the half–rushed up the court and lost the ball to Brandon Jennings. Detroit worked the ball around to Greg Monroe, who put in a hook shot and was fouled–all with just fractions of a second left on the game clock. He hit the free throw, cutting Brooklyn's halftime lead to 51-44. After two quarters, the Nets led by just seven when they probably should have been up by twelve.
That quick turnaround was a precursor to yet another horrid third quarter–and overall second half–for the Nets, who were outscored by a staggering 19 points in the third frame alone. Throughout the quarter, missed shots and terrible defense from the Nets–in addition to smart paint play by Detroit–allowed the Pistons to easily climb their way back into the game, as they established a 12-point lead entering the fourth quarter.
In the final leg of this one, Joe Johnson and Mirza Teletovic led Jason Kidd's desperate squad on a desperate comeback attempt that brought them to within five points (96-91) at the 2:51 mark. However, a circus shot from Rodney Stuckey–who scorching the Nets as usual, scoring a team-high 27 points–stifled Brooklyn's run and was enough to stop the futile effort in its tracks. Solid first half, bad third quarter, and too-little-too-late fourth quarter is turning into a consistent formula for the Nets: a formula that keeps producing losses.
Some other observations I had from the game: The story of this game: turnovers and points in the paint. The Nets committed 17 and caused just nine, allowing for 29 Detroit points. Also, the Pistons outscored Brooklyn by a ridiculous 34 paint points. Regardless of how many threes they hit (Nets were 14-for-26 from beyond the arc), it's not going to be easy to win with that kind of disadvantage…..Joe Johnson probably played his best game as a Net earlier today, hitting eight threes and shooting 12-for-18 from the field overall for a game-high 34 points. Joe looked like his old self and was simply unstoppable. Problem is he couldn't take all 77 shots for the Nets…..Mirza Teletovic, and other deep reserve guys, got some extended playing time, and he impressed offensively. Mirza's mighty defensive struggles are still present, but at least he was hitting shots (3-for-4 from three). The best he has played in awhile…..This team misses Brook Lopez to a degree I don't think I can accurately portray.
Looking Ahead
Brooklyn tries to stop its losing streak, now at five, again on Tuesday night in Toronto versus the struggling Raptors.
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