The Nets woke up on Sunday and soon after heard the news that James Harden (rest) and Paul Millsap (personal reasons) would not be available in their matchup with the Detroit Pistons. This meant everyone had to step up to fill the voids these two brought offensively, and that’s exactly what they did to pull out a victory.
In the first half, Brooklyn put together a 13-point lead, but they took their foot off the gas and allowed Detroit to get back in the game. The Pistons’ ball pressure then began turning up a notch as they forced 17 turnovers, exploiting the Nets since they were without their primary ball-handler James Harden.
Once the team solved this problem, Kevin Durant (51 PTS, 9 ASTS, 7 REBS) just kept causing absolute chaos for the Pistons. This was one problem that they along with the rest of the league can’t solve when matched up with Brooklyn. What made matters worse was the fact that Durant was hot.
The former MVP was getting everyone involved, particularly Patty Mills (18 PTS, 4 3PM) and Cam Thomas (13 PTS). When it came down to closing out the game in the final period, the team as a collective clamped down defensively to hold Detroit to 13 points in the quarter.
Brooklyn ended the game shooting it at 47% from the field and 39% from three. The Nets also made sure to get out on the fast break, outscoring Detroit 25-18 in that category. As for their activity on the glass, the team outrebounded the Pistons 43-40 by the final buzzer.
Steve Nash and his squad will be back at it again on Tuesday to take on the Toronto Raptors.