The Nets, since moving to Brooklyn, have usually not done very well in the second half of most back-to-backs. Whether that’s because of the team’s older players, lapses in coaching or uncomfortable plane rides, it cannot be known. But, after losing 90-88 in a very close (and winnable) game to the Cavaliers in Cleveland last night, the odds of the Nets coming back to beat the Pistons at Barclays on Sunday weren’t the greatest.
But, the NBA is full of surprises, and the Nets were able to withstand a late collapse en route to a much-needed 87-83 victory over Detroit in Brooklyn for the Nets’ third-straight home win. The Nets outscored the Pistons 28-16 in the fourth quarter to propel themselves ahead of bad-shooting Detroit, which took 20 more field goal attempts than Brooklyn but only converted on 34 percent of them.
Neither team looked particularly strong to start the game, as the score was just 15-12 in favor of Detroit with three minutes left in the first quarter. The Pistons would take a 22-18 advantage after 12 minutes but Brooklyn scored the first seven points of the next frame to grab the lead right back. Both teams’ bench units battled to a relative draw for much of the second quarter but the Pistons used an extended 17-8 run to close out the half with a 41-35 lead. Brooklyn’s offense went nearly defunct, scoring just six points in the final seven minutes of the quarter.
The Nets flirted with danger for basically the next 14 minutes, as Detroit’s prominent rebounding started to kill Brooklyn on the glass and create more possessions, many of which Stan Van Gundy’s team converted on. The Pistons took a 58-48 lead at the 5:18 mark on a Kentavious Caldwell-Pope three-pointer and looked to be running away with this one, as the Nets — who played last night — were tired and disinterested, and couldn’t even be bothered to box any Piston out down low.
Still, those pesky Nets –they can’t seem to avoid close games anymore — hung around and behind multiple fourth quarter surges from birthday boy Wayne Ellington, continued to fight back. Ellington scored Brooklyn’s first eight points of the fourth quarter (and eight of the game’s first 10) to keep the Nets in it before hoops from Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young — following an Andre Drummond layup — tied the game up at 74 with over six minutes to play.
Brooklyn looked to put the game away with a 7-2 run — highlighted by a huge transition three from Shane Larkin — but the Pistons immediately responded with seven straight points to take the lead back at the 1:21 mark of regulation. In fact, the Drummond layup that ended Detroit’s scoring streak would be the Pistons’ final points of the night. Jarrett Jack re-tied the score at 83 apiece with just under a minute left before a Reggie Jackson missed layup led to a Lopez free throw split which essentially won the game for the Nets.
The Pistons missed back-to-back desperation threes — one from Caldwell-Pope and one from Jackson — as the Nets salted the win away at the charity stripe. For once, Brooklyn was not the team to fold in crunch time. Tonight, that team was the Pistons.
Some other thoughts I had from the game: It says a lot about this team that it was able to win without a strong offensive game from Brook Lopez, who scored 15 points but did so on 6-of-18 shooting with three turnovers. However, he was vital on the defensive end, blocking six shots and forcing four steals in addition to collecting nine rebounds, with a few coming in important late game situations. He missed something like 10 or 11 of his first 13 shots and just could never get going, even though he was getting decent looks at the basket. But, he “limited” (as best he could) Andre Drummond to 20 points and 18 rebounds. Obviously, Lopez was outplayed by Drummond, but much of Detroit’s center’s stats came with Lopez on the bench due to foul trouble. Brook also had five assists….The two Nets who played the best tonight were Young (19 points on 9-for-12 shooting and 10 rebounds) and Ellington (12 points on 5-for-7 shooting and six rebounds), though. Thad, as usual, was flying everywhere on the floor, making defensive plays left and right, grabbing loose balls and hitting the glass hard. He also made a few key buckets. For Ellington, it was probably his best showing as a Net since he was shooting with confidence from all over the floor. He can be a real perimeter weapon when his shot is on….Not the best performances from Jarrett Jack (five turnovers) and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (0-for-4 shooting), who were benched in favor of Ellington and Shane Larkin (nine points) for much of the key minutes toward the end of the game. It was good to see Lionel Hollins go away from his normal rotation to give extra time for Ellington and Larkin, whose play deserved more floor time. He took a chance, and it worked beautifully….Thomas Robinson, tasked with a tough assignment in Drummond, grabbed seven rebounds in 12 minutes but missed some gimmies offensively. Still, he’s on the team to rebound and did a good enough job of that….Andrea Bargnani played just three minutes tonight due to a hamstring strain. This forced Robinson to assume more responsibility, which he did aptly. An injury to the oft-injured Bargnani would really tighten the Nets’ frontcourt rotation.
Onto the next one: Tuesday night at Barclays against the Suns. The Nets have now won three straight home games.
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