The Nets beat the Detroit Pistons 107-105 Saturday night at Little Caesars Arena, improving to 16-47 and snapping a 10-game losing streak behind a 34-21 fourth-quarter surge. It was the fifth-largest comeback in franchise history.
This one had a little edge to it. Detroit had handled Brooklyn in the first two meetings, including a 130-77 demolition the last time the Nets were in this building last month and a 125-107 win at Barclays Center on Nov. 7. The Pistons came in as the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference. The Nets came in as the worst team in the East. And even with Detroit missing All-Star point guard Cade Cunningham and Ausar Thompson, the night still looked like it was headed toward another long one for Brooklyn.
It didn’t.
Brooklyn played without rookie Egor Dëmin for a fourth straight game, while fellow rookie Drake Powell remained in the G League. The Nets shot 43.8% and turned it over 20 times, creating 21 extra points for Detroit. None of that mattered once the game tightened and Brooklyn finally found a way to win a possession battle late.
Michael Porter Jr. led the Nets with 30 points and 13 rebounds. Ziaire Williams added 23 points off the bench, his third straight game with at least 15 points, the longest streak of his career. Tobias Harris led Detroit with 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Pistons had five players score in double figures.
Brooklyn didn’t make it easy on itself early, though. Porter scored nine quick points in the first quarter, but he didn’t get much help and Detroit’s offense came in waves. All eight Pistons who played in the opening quarter scored, led by Marcus Sasser’s eight points, and Detroit shot 59.1% in the period.
The Nets shot 31.6% in the first quarter, turned it over six times and trailed 32-19 entering the second. Detroit kept control from there, building the lead to 16 with 2:13 left in the first half. Brooklyn briefly trimmed it to 13 behind a few stops and Porter buckets, but Daniss Jenkins and Jalen Duren closed the half at the free throw line, and the Pistons carried a 16-point advantage into the break.
Detroit also had four players score at least eight points in the first half, and Brooklyn’s six second-quarter turnovers piled onto the early mistakes. By the time the Nets walked into the locker room, the scoreboard matched the feel.
Detroit had the game. Brooklyn was chasing. And then Brooklyn flipped the script after halftime.
The Nets fell behind by as many as 23 in the third quarter, but they didn’t fold. They responded with an 11-2 burst capped by Williams’ third 3-pointer to pull within 15 with 3:52 left in the period, forcing a Detroit timeout. Not long after, Danny Wolf sparked another push with a block that turned into a coast-to-coast layup, part of a 13-2 run that cut the deficit to 13.
Brooklyn outscored Detroit 27-22 in the third quarter, closed the period on a 19-7 run and held the Pistons to 36.8% shooting in the quarter. Detroit still led 84-73 entering the fourth, but momentum had shifted. The Nets were finally dictating stretches with their defense, and the Pistons were feeling it.
Then the comeback turned into a sensational finish.
Day’Ron Sharpe took over the middle of the fourth, initiating offense, winning loose-ball moments and piling up nine points and five rebounds in the final frame alone. Porter banked in a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to nine with 7:10 left, and Sharpe’s eighth made 3-pointer of the season made it an eight-point game moments later. With Sharpe’s continued activity at both ends, it was a four-point game with 2:40 left.
Williams did the rest from deep. His fourth triple of the night made it a one-point game with 2:16 left, and the Pistons were scrambling to close without Cunningham. Williams drilled his fifth 3-pointer on Brooklyn’s next possession, giving the Nets their first lead since it was 8-7. A pair of Porter free throws with 53.7 seconds left put Brooklyn up 107-103, capped a 12-0 run and gave the Nets their biggest lead of the night.
And after being down 23, that was enough.
The Nets return to action Monday against the Memphis Grizzlies before hosting Detroit again Tuesday in the second game of a back-to-back set.
