Brooklyn Nets defeat Detroit Pistons 87-83 (Game Wrap-Up)

Backup shooting guard Wayne Ellington, who has struggled with his shot all year, finally was able to find his stroke, hitting 5 of his 7 field goal attempts on his way to a 12 point game (a season high).

The Nets are nowhere near the caliber of opponent that the Thunder are, and if the Pistons are going to make a playoff run this season this is the type of game they have to win.

Said Lopez: “LeBron made a great play”.

Paul George scored the Pacers’ final 11 points in the last 1:27, finishing with 39 as in opened a four-game West Coast road trip with its fifth straight victory despite blowing all but one point of a 22-point lead. “I felt like I’m back in a little bit of a rhythm…” Thaddeus Young had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Nets. Stretch that out to the last five minutes of close games, and James has totaled an NBA-high 48 points, averaging 5.3 points in those situations. Brooklyn trailed for most of the game but came storming back in the fourth quarter, erasing a 10-point deficit in the process. The Nets now move to 4-13, and with their schedule set to lighten up over the next few weeks, they are in prime position to crank out a couple good winning streaks.

“I didn’t think anybody on our team rebounded well at all”, Van Gundy said. “We’ve just got to keep working to improve on both ends and gain experience, both together and individually.”. “We got very frustrated, missing shots, thinking we’re getting fouled-it affected our defense”.

“It’s really interesting how the league is”, Nets coach Lionel Hollins said. Brook Lopez had 15 points, seven of them in the fourth quarter. “If we shoot 60 percent from the free-throw line, we win it”. Fortunately, their late-game play was enough for the team to walk away with a win, 87-83. Granted, this is a Nets team that took Golden State to OT.

On Wednesday, Jeremy Lamb had 18 points and seven rebounds, Nicolas Batum added 16 points and 11 assists for Charlotte. “But we need a lot more from him than we got tonight”. Johnson added 17 for the Nets, who fell to 1-10 on the road. The Pistons took control of the game midway through the second quarter and held a 41-35 halftime lead, thanks to eight different Detroit players making their way into the scorebook.

Detroit is one of the worst offensive teams in the league, but it also happens to be one of the NBA’s best rebounding squads.

The Pistons took an 83-81 lead on Andre Drummond’s layup with 1:21 left but Jarrett Jack hit a jumper half a minute later to tie it at 83, setting the stage for Lopez.

Caldwell-Pope led all scorers with 21. They also forced 20 turnovers – tied for the most by a Brooklyn foe – as swingman Rondae Hollis-Jefferson notched five steals for the second time in his last three games. The other is Pelicans PF Anthony Davis….

Outlook: Rockets guard James Harden had 50 points and thwarted the Sixers on Friday night, his fourth game this season scoring 40-plus.