A little home cooking did a whole lot of good for the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night to regain momentum for the final push of the regular season.
Brooklyn bounced back from Wednesday’s blowout loss to the cross-town rival New York Knicks with a 116-104 victory over the Detroit Pistons at home on Friday night at the Barclays Center. The win marked Brooklyn’s first over Detroit this season and the Nets’ 15th straight on their home court, a franchise record and the longest active home winning streak in the NBA.
The Nets did it by shooting a stellar 60.5 percent from the field on the night, highlighted by a 15-of-31 (48.4 percent) effort from downtown. Mirza Teletovic was a big part of that shooting success as he connected on 6-of-10 attempts from deep to finish with 20 points second on the team to Shaun Livingston (23).
Coach Kidd attributed the outstanding shooting effort to the team’s ball movement as they piled up 28 assists on 46 made baskets, led by 10 assists from point guard Deron Williams.
“When you’re unselfish, you get the looks that we’re getting from behind the three,” Jason said. “It’s fun to watch.”
It took the Nets a little while to get warmed up and in the first quarter, both teams appeared content to trade baskets. The opening frame featured five ties and the lead changed four times. Coach Kidd was able to give his starters some rest in the quarter, while Detroit left its lineup in for the full 12 minutes, a fact that would prove crucial down the stretch. At the end of it, the teams were knotted at 22-22.
As the second quarter began, the Nets reserves caught fire, both offensively and defensively. Teletovic drained a 3-pointer on Brooklyn’s first possession of the second frame, and the Nets never looked back.
Teletovic’s trey kicked off a 29-9 run in the quarter’s first seven minutes of the second to stake Brooklyn to a 20-point lead. Of the course of the run, Brooklyn went 13-of-19 from the field and 7-of-10 from beyond the arc, while holding the Pistons to 38.5 percent shooting.
Detroit fought back at the end of the quarter, but the Nets went into the locker room riding a 57-45 lead.
The Nets extended their shooting exhibition throughout the third frame. Paul Pierce opened the second half with a commanding dunk, and moments later hit a three-pointer to extend Brooklyn’s lead to 14. Detroit eventually cut the Nets’ advantage down to 10 at 71-61, but Brooklyn remained calm under pressure and never let Detroit get any closer.
As the third quarter wound down, the Nets put together a quick 9-0 run to effectively put the game out of reach and after Teletovic hit a trey with 4.6 remaining in the third, Brooklyn took a 22-point lead into the fourth
The lead allowed Jason to rest Johnson, Plumlee, and Williams for the final frame in order to get them ready for Saturday’s contest. Detroit made a small run in the final 12 minutes of action, but it proved too little too late as Brooklyn was able to comfortably maintain its home winning streak with a 116-104 victory.
In addition to the 20-point efforts of Livingston and Teletovic, the Nets got contributions from all over. Pierce dropped in 17 points of his own and Deron Williams tallied 10 assists. Off the bench, Marcus Thornton and Andray Blatche scored 15 and 14 points respectively.
Playing for the first time in six games, Andrei Kirilenko also chipped in from a reserve role and finished with four assists, three rebounds and two steals. Even Jason Collins got into the act and wound up with six points and five boards while logging more than 16 minutes on the floor. Afterward, Coach Kidd joked that it was a throwback game of sorts for his former teammate Collins.
“Twin was great,” Nets coach Jason Kidd said. “He had a flashback to 2001, so he was good. Again, being able to rebound, keep guys off the boards and help defensively. But then offensively, he got a couple putbacks that were big for us.”
NEXT UP
The Nets will look to carry the momentum from their 15th straight home win on the road with them Saturday as they head down to Philadelphia to take on the Sixers for the final time this year.
But the Nets may have a “Big Ticket reinforcement for that game, as Coach Kidd noted on Friday night that Brooklyn hopes to welcome Kevin Garnett back to the lineup on Saturday. Garnett has missed the team’s last 19 games due to a back injury, but has been working out with the team and drawing closer to a return.
“He felt better today,” Jason said before the team departed for Philadelphia. “We’ll see how this plane ride goes, and then we’ll see in the morning how he feels. We would like to try to get him to go, but it’s up to him.”
Tip-off of Saturday’s showdown in the City of Brotherly Love is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on YES Network.
RELATED LINKS
- Notes: Nets’ shooting stars at Barclays (ESPN New York, April 4, 2014)
- Nets get into good offensive groove (Newsday, April 4, 2014)
- Shaun Livingston helps Nets breeze by Pistons (NY Daily News, April 5, 2014)
- Nets earn 15th-straight victory at Barclays (NY Post, April 4, 2014)
- Nets win 15th straight at home (Nets Daily, April 4, 2014)
- Nets stay hot at home with 116-104 win over Pistons (The Record, April 4, 2014)
- 15 Straight At Home: Nets 116, Pistons 104 (The Brooklyn Game, April 4, 2014)
- Teletovic the Nets’ x-factor heading into playoffs (Examiner.com, April 4, 2014)
