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Nets finish off the regular season with a 103-99 win over the Pistons; Next up, the Chicago Bulls

By Tom Lorenzo
USA TODAY Sports

BROOKLYN - Game 82 of the 2012-13 season, and it was a meaningless one. Though, for the first time in five seasons playing meaningless basketball in mid-April is a good thing.

The Detroit Pistons were in town, the playoff rotations were set, and now it was simply a matter of getting the key players some run, "make them sweat," as interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said before the game.

The second order of business was to be on scoreboard watch as the Hawks and Bulls were both in action. A Bulls win would mean a first-round matchup between Chicago and Brooklyn, while a Bulls loss and a Hawks win would mean the Nets would get Atlanta in the first round.

And just as the Nets were finishing off the Pistons, they learned who their first round opponent would be: The Chicago Bulls. The game will take place in Brooklyn on Saturday evening.

The key to the game -- because, yes, there was a game played in Brooklyn -- was to get the offense into a rhythm and to somehow right what's wrong with Gerald Wallace. Well, with Wallace air-balling his first attempt (a three), it didn't seem like a quick fix was in order. Wallace finally got on the board with an easy transition dunk, which is exactly what he needed, following that up with a second dunk on back-to-back possessions. Not a "fix," but a band-aid to help him somehow regain his confidence.

Wallace finished the game with five points on 2-of-5 shooting in 26 minutes.

The Nets carried a double-digit lead for most of the first half in what could be considered, well, a not-so-pretty game of basketball. For the most part, it was almost like a pick-up game, in that the key the right guys the right amount of run and no one played any defense -- on either side.

Other than that, it was an injury-free game, which is the most important thing.

The Nets took care of business, winning their 49th game of the season, 103-99. The Nets finished the season 17 games above .500, the most all season and the most since the end of the 2005-06 season. The 49 wins were also the second most for a Nets team, tied with the 1982-83, 2002-03 and 2005-06 seasons. Now, onto the playoffs, where every game matters.

Brook Lopez finished with a team-high 20 points and nine rebounds, while Deron Williams had eight points and six assists in 20 minutes.

For more on the Pistons, see: Detroit Bad Boys

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Game 82: Detroit Pistons @ Brooklyn Nets

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