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Brooklyn Nets, with NINE players missing, defeat Detroit Pistons

By Net Income
Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

With nine players out and Lionel Hollins often playing third string lineups, the Nets beat the Pistons Thursday for their first win of the season, 93-83, in Detroit. Shane Larkin, filling in for a resting Jarrett Jack, finished with 17 points, as did Brook Lopez and for the second straight game, Wayne Ellington had 16. Lopez, outplaying Andre Drummond, also grabbed nine boards in 27 minutes.

The Nets led from midway in the first quarter with the lead ballooning to 16 at one point in the fourth. The Nets are now 1-1, their loss coming Monday vs. Fenerbahce in Brooklyn.

Chris Daniels, the 31-year-old rookie, hit two three-pointers in the fourth to thwart a Pistons attempt at a comeback.  Daniels was one several camp invites who played big minutes as six Nets were injured and three others, Jarrett Jack, Joe Johnson and Sergey Karasev taking scheduled rests.

Donald Sloan played 23 minutes and handed out seven assists to go with nine points; Justin Harper, the 6'10" journeyman, played a lot of the 5, particularly in the second half, scoring 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Dahntay Jones, fighting for a spot in his 12th season as a pro, played 25 minutes and scored five points while playing solid defense.

Ellington and Larkin, who started in the backcourt, combined for 5-of-8 on three-pointers. Larkin also handed out five assists and grabbed five rebounds. Here's a highlight package...

Overall, the Nets shot 10-of-21 from deep, 47.6 percent. Lopez tried two three's and missed both.

"I talked to them this morning after shootaround, and I told them what I expected in terms of they had to control the tempo," Lionel Hollins told Tim Bontemps after the game. "They had to push it when we had it, and they had to bring it out when we didn’t have it. … [I thought] they did pretty good."

The only downside for the Nets was the performance of Rondae Hollis-Jefferson who didn't score in 28 minutes, taking only three shots. Ersan Ilyasova led the Pistons with 15 points, while Andre Drummond finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Reggie Jackson, who  the Nets almost traded for Lopez last February, finished 3-of-10 from the field for seven points. He committed six of the Pistons 21 turnovers.

The Nets play again Saturday afternoon vs. Philadelphia in Albany, N.Y.

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