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Nets stomped in Detroit as Lopez sits, 115-103

By Anthony Puccio
Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

Turns out it's pretty hard to win without Brook Lopez.

Lopez sat out of Saturday's contest with a virus and although they hung around for most of the game, the Nets fell short with a 115-103 loss to the Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Lopez sat for just the second time this season.

While the Nets' star center was out, Detroit's center was making an impact in the playoff race the Pistons currently find themselves in. The big man, somewhat contained, still had himself a nice night with 16 points and nine rebounds. Willie Reed and Henry Sims covered Drummond for a majority of the game and actually impressed for the most of the night.

As a whole, the Nets did a good job of staying close through three quarters. They trailed by two at half and later took a six-point lead after a big quarter from Thaddeus Young, who scored 14 of his 24 points in the third quarter. Young also grabbed nine rebounds and blocked two shots.

But like most nights, it wasn't enough. The Pistons jumped out on a 21-6 run in the fourth quarter and took a 15-point lead to end all hopes of Brooklyn pulling off a major upset. They ended up outscoring the Nets 38-26 in the final quarter.

The Nets forced only six Detroit turnovers and nailed just five 3-pointers to the Pistons' 10. Aron Baynes came off the bench and gave the Nets nightmares, scoring 17 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter. Anthony Tolliver also feasted on the Nets with 17 points.

Those were two of seven guys in double figures for Detroit.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 19 points in 33 minutes - matching his average in the 11 games since the Nets bought out Joe Johnson. Bogdanovic arguably had the best week of his NBA career after averaging 25.5 points in four games.

Meanwhile, the auditions continued ...

In his first game as a Net, Henry Sims had a nice debut outing with 10 points and eight rebounds. As for Sean Marks' other D-League call-up -- Sean Kilpatrick - he scored 15 points in 20 minutes, which is his fifth straight game in double figures.

Oh and by the way, Sean Marks and new Assistant GM Trajan Langdon were both in the building for this one.

Willie Reed, also auditioning in some sense, started in place of Brook Lopez and had a decent night with 13 points and six rebounds in 26 minutes.

With the loss, they Nets are tied for the third-worst record in the NBA. Boston continues to party on their grave...

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Next Up: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. against the Charlotte Hornets.

For more on the Detroit Pistons, check them out At The Hive.

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