With Deron Williams, Kris Humphries and Anthony Morrow out, you knew that Brook Lopez would have to carry a big load for the Nets in Detroit on Wednesday. He did that, scoring a career-high 39 points, but that wasn't enough, as the Pistons outlasted the Nets 116-109.
It was the most points by a Nets center since Mike Gminski scored 41 in a game 25 years ago.
The Nets closed a high-scoring first half on a 15-4 run to take a five-point lead into the break. The Pistons got the lead back early in the third quarter and the game was close until the Nets went empty on five straight possessions in the middle of the fourth and the Pistons built an eight-point lead. With the Nets still struggling to score down the stretch, Detroit held on for a seven-point win.
The Nets shot 49 percent from the field, but allowed the Pistons to shoot 55 percent. Jordan Farmar had 18 points and 11 assists for New Jersey, while Sasha Vujacic added 16 points.
The Nets did not say anything about an MRI on Williams' wrist, which was expected to take place Wednesday afternoon. Avery Johnson told reporters that he'd give them an update on Williams' status Friday morning at shootaround.
- Boxscore - NBA.com
- Game Highlights (Video) - NBA.com
- Pistons pull away to beat Nets 116-109 - Noah Trister - AP
- Brook Lopez can't save Nets in 116-109 loss to Pistons - Colin Stephenson - Star-Ledger
- Nets' Anthony Morrow sits out against Pistons - Colin Stephenson - Star-Ledger
- No excuse for Nets to let up - Al Iannazzone - The Record
- Nets notes: Deron Williams' status - Al Iannazzone - The Record
- Nets needed to keep feeding dominant Lopez - Al Iannazzone - The Nets Insider
- Detroit 116, New Jersey 109: Stuckey says everything's good now - Vince Ellis - Detroit Free Press
- Pistons notes, quotes from win over Nets - Vince Ellis - Detroit Free Press
- Rodney Stuckey returns with a bang in Pistons victory - Vincent Goodwill - Detroit News
- Stuckey, Monroe turn in double-doubles as Pistons hold off Nets - Chris Iott - Michigan Live
- Twilight Zone - Keith Langlois - Detroit Pistons
- Postgame Quotes - April 6, 2011 - Detroit Pistons