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The Nets kicked off game one of their 8-game "circus road trip" and, well, had no intention of dropping this one. After falling to the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night, the Nets were able to shake off a terrible fourth quarter performance and quickly turn the page.
Thanks, mostly, to Deron Williams who was in superstar mode tonight, scoring 31 points in just three quarters of basketball, leading the Nets to a 119-82 victory over the Pistons.
Brooklyn came out in this one with some crisp, strong offensive execution. Deron Williams was out there running circles around Jose Calderon, and when he wasn't getting to the rim for an easy bucket or pulling up and draining long jumpers, he was goading the Pistons defense into collapsing, leading to easy buckets for his teammates.
Williams finished the first with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting and three assists, and thanks to the fact that the Nets turned the ball over just once in the first -- coupled with Williams' offensive outburst -- they ended the quarter with a 36-23 lead.
In the second quarter, it was all about the bench. With MarShon Brooks, Andray Blatche and, yes, Jerry Stackhouse leading the way. Brooks was the big spark, on both sides of the floor, scoring eight points and blocking two shots in the quarter. Stackhouse, who hadn't played since January 26, scored six points (with one block) in six minutes, in the second.
Greg Monroe gave the Nets fits in the first half, shooting 8-of-8 from the floor, scoring 16 points.
At the half, the Nets, behind their bench, had built up a 59-45 lead.
Brook Lopez took over in the third quarter, scoring eight quick points and giving the Nets a 20-point lead midway through the third. From here, it was simply a matter of playing the remainder of the game out. The Nets had no fourth quarter hangover whatsoever in this one.
Through three quarters, the Nets were up 31, 90-59, and Williams had 31 points in 28 minutes. Game. Over.
Brooks played really well off the bench, scoring 10 points, as Stackhouse had a nice line, finishing with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting, while Blatche had 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists off the bench.
Then, of course, there was Mirza Teletovic, who scored nine points with six rebounds. All around ti was a great win for the Nets and the perfect way to start their road trip.
For more on the Pistons, see: Detroit Bad Boys
- Nets at Pistons - March 18, 2013 - Box score - NBA.com
- Nets vs. Pistons: First half (Video) - NBA.com
- Williams Steal, Wallace Slam (Video) - NBA.com
- Williams Spins It In (Video) - NBA.com
- Nets crush Pistons to open 8-game road trip - AP
- Nets Post Game Plus: Nets defeat Pistons (Video) - YES Network
- Carlesimo discusses defense after win over Pistons (Video) - YES Network
- Lopez discusses Nets' win over the the Pistons (Video) - YES Network
- Williams discusses Net's 119-82 win over the Pistons (Video) - Sarah Kustok - YES Network
- Nets begin long trip by blowing out Pistons - Rod Boone - Newsday
- Rapid Reaction: Nets 119, Pistons 82 - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
- Nets rout the Pistons to open road trip - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
- Deron scores 31 as Nets pulverize Pistons - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
- Stackhouse returns to court after two-month layoff - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
- What A Difference A Day Makes: Nets 119, Pistons 82 (Game Grades) - Devin Kharpertian - The Brooklyn Game
- Rapid Recap: #Nets 119 #Pistons 82 - John Paolantonio - SNY Nets
- Nets Begin Long Trip With Rout of Pistons - Jake Appleman - New York Times
- Nets Still Trying to Find Themselves After Loss to Hawks - Beckley Mason - New York Times
- D-Will Thrills, Stack is Back, Nets Destroy Pistons - Ian Parfrey - Brooklyn Fans
- Nets at Pistons Recap: Complete Annihilation - Anthony Dixon - Nets Take Over
- Brooklyn 119, Detroit 82: Pistons lose ninth straight in Lawrence Frank's return - Brian Manzullo - Detroit Free Press
- Coach Lawrence Frank returns, sees Pistons clobbered by Nets - Vincent Goodwill - Detroit News
- Detroit Pistons offer a no-fire response to coach's return in 37-point rout by Brooklyn Nets - David Mayo - MLive
- Brooklyn Nets tickets - TiqIQ
- First half game thread - NetsDaily
- Second half game thread - NetsDaily