Brooklyn’s ‘voice of reason’ Jeff Green said it best on Friday – “We owe them one.”
It was neither easy nor beautiful, but the Nets took their revenge on the Pistons, who had suffered a humiliating defeat to Brooklyn on February 9, defeating Detroit 100-95.
The Pistons did not leave when they won the first advantage since the first minutes of the second with 2:51 of the end of the game, but James Harden appeared when the Nets needed him most, scoring the last 10 points of the Nets, putting Redes in the back. as the game went down to the final seconds.
Harden continued to cook at the end of the game, delivering a beautiful floater to place Brooklyn in five points with 19.1 remaining. In the next possession, Mason Plumlee hit on a withdrawal from an out-of-time play, but the Nets succeeded in the dirty game, making all their free throws to ensure victory for revenge.
“James got a few buckets of keys on the stretch and I took my hat off to the Pistons. They were physical, they made a good defense, they were very well trained and made things difficult for us, ”said Nash after the victory. “We didn’t shoot, which is unusual, but at important moments, we managed to hit baskets and, most importantly, stop.”
With the victory, the Nets not only avenged the defeat, but now have won 12 of the last 13 games and improved to 26-13 of the season. They are now half a game behind the conference leader, the vacant Philadelphia 76ers.
To make revenge sweeter, five Nets ended in double digits, led by Nets defense duo Harden and Kyrie Irving, who added 42 points.
“Everyone got up and played here or there. They were winning moves and sometimes you have to find a way to win when you don’t even have your best stuff, ”said Nash.
Harden, who was the latest Net to hear MVP screams from the Barclays Center crowd, ended his eighth triple-double as a Net (and the ninth of the season) with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in 38 minutes. Irving recorded 18 points, four rebounds and five assists in victory.
“I heard the crowd tonight,” said Harden. “It was exciting. I’m looking forward to it and I can’t wait to let more fans in. I can’t wait for that day.”
Landry Shamet had an almost perfect birthday game by continuing his strong shot, finishing with 15 points out of 3 out of 3 pitches and 5 out of 6 overall in 22 minutes off the bench. Joe Harris finished with 10 and DeAndre Jordan with 14 and nine rebounds. Nicolas Claxton played 18 minutes, accumulated eight points, three rebounds, two blocks, two assists and a steal.
The Nets ended the victory with 48.1% of pitches and 22.2% of depth.
As for the Pistons, Jerami Grant had a 22-point performance followed by Nets 2021 in the second round, Shaddiq Bey, who finished with 13 points in 29 minutes. Detroit falls to 10/28 with the loss.
The Nets opened the contest by pressing offensively. While Detroit attempted six three – taking down three of them – in the first five minutes, Brooklyn focused its offensive attack inland.
After a timeout of four with 6:55 remaining in the first, Detroit executed his attack through ex-Net Mason Plumlee, looking for incompatibilities in the block, but quickly kicked the long ball out of the ball’s movement. After making their first three three, the Nets kept the Pistons at 0 out of 11 in the first quarter.
As for Brooklyn, the score was a collective effort in the first match, as all the starters were on the scoreboard – led by Harden, who had eight points, four rebounds and an assist in nine minutes. The Nets ended the first period with 55% in total, but 20% in three. Nash aimed the shooting fights at the defense of Detroit and the Nets missed shots.
“A little bit of both. As I said, I want to give them some credit. We forced some difficult trios, but we also lost many open ones, so we could have more separation if we had a more typical shooting night, ”said Nash. “You give them credit. I think Coach Casey does a great job. They play a lot, they play physically and we didn’t play a big game, but we need to give them some credit ”.
The Nets had a slow start to the second, as the Pistons played more physically and increased their aggression by attacking the exchanges. While Detroit opened the second fort, Claxton opened his bag a little, showing a little from coast to coast while showing his aggression in the transition – giving the Nets a solid game.
Irving returned to the game at the 7:49 mark of the second and provided the instant attack and creating opportunities for his teammates. While Irving was finding his places, Harden and DeAndre Jordan had their connection flowing, pairing up with a series of lobs and slams.
The Pistons struggled to make pitches, ending the quarter with 37.7% in total and about 15% overall. Detroit ended the semester without its last 15 trios. Despite struggling to make shots, the Pistons stayed close by due to their activity on the boards – overtaking Brooklyn 24-19. Eight of his 24 boards were offensive rebounds, with the Pistons trailing the Nets 51-46 at halftime.
In the case of Brooklyn, the Nets ended the semester with 55.3 percent of field shots, but only 1 in 11 of the field. In fact, the four three combined between the two teams were the lowest three combined in any half for the Nets this season.
The Nets opened the third with more energy and greater defensive intensity, leading to a 5-0 run by Joe Harris due to Harden’s hit when Detroit called for a time limit to regroup 10. The Pistons regrouped and didn’t go away, cutting the leadership to some extent, but with vengeance in mind, Brooklyn responded. The Nets finished third with a 17-6 streak, which included 11 Shamet points, to place Brooklyn at 78-66 in the last 12 minutes.
Detroit got the better of the Nets in the opening minutes, when the Pistons opened the final period with a 7-0 run with no plans to leave. The game was tied at 92 with 1:47 remaining, but Harden took over, scoring the last 10 points for Brooklyn when the Nets had their revenge and a victory.
The cinema room
On his 24th birthday, it is only fitting that Landry Shamet has perhaps his most balanced scoring game as a net. Shooting 100% from the depths is one thing, but doing it in ridiculous attempts embedded in the DEEP in the corner is a ridiculous thing for the birthday boy.
“The birthday boy – he was great. He’s in a good phase here and it’s amazing to see, ”said Nash. “He made some big shots for us. We wouldn’t have won Boston’s game without him and we wouldn’t have won tonight without him. Essential performances from Landry and we definitely needed the big baskets he made tonight. “
Shamet balanced his scoring game with other pitches as well; a medium-sized pull-up after being run off the line. Or, as you will see below, he created for himself a dribbling-handoff dribbling all the way to the basket before smoothly throwing it over Isaiah Stewart’s stroke. Bonus points for finishing with an awkward hand!
A uniform scoring palette only makes the sniper more lethal; his widespread approach to attack forces a defense to think twice, giving Shamet additional space to launch heat-seeking shots from the bottom.
It was another piece of redemption for Shamet. In December, it shot up 25.0 percent; in January, 32.7 percent; in February 40.5% and now 47.8% in March. And just to be sure, he overcame Saddiq Bey, the first-round player the Nets gave up on their three-team Draft Night deal. Bey finished with 13 points, but hit 2 out of 9 out of 3 and 4 out of 13 overall.
What is the next
The Nets will return to action when the team hosts its cross-town rival, the New York Knicks, on Monday, March 15.
For a different perspective, check out Detroit Bad Boys – our sister site on SB Nation covering the Detroit Pistons.