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The first few minutes were promising. Michael Porter Jr. \u2014 chased through screens not by Thompson but by Duncan Robinson \u2014 got free for a couple early threes, and Jordi Fern\u00e1ndez even threw out a funky double-big lineup to reward the faithful Brooklyn viewers that tuned in.<\/p>\n
Then the Pistons went on an 18-4 run, taking a 16-point lead into the half as old friend Caris LeVert helped destroy a turnover-prone reserve unit\u2026<\/p>\n
Another Nets loss, huh? Not even the were providing enjoyment, with Egor D\u00ebmin sitting to manage his plantar fascia injury again, while Traore (15 minutes) and Ben Saraf (four minutes) combined for five turnovers and two total points. Danny Wolf was better, finishing with a tidy eight points and four assists, but the team was down 23 points soon after the third quarter started. Autopilot, right?<\/p>\n
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And then it all changed. Jordi Fern\u00e1ndez rode the veterans to a wild, wild comeback, ending a ten-game losing streak. Foolish or not, nobody can accuse this team of tanking, not on Saturday night in Detroit.<\/p>\n
Michael Porter Jr. never really caught fire, but shot 10-of-25 to end up with 30\/13\/1 , leading all scorers. Likewise, Noah Clowney shot just 1-of-5 from deep, but frequented the free-throw line en route to 16 points. Terance Mann brought the ball up the floor for much of the second half and stabilized the group, while Ziaire Williams continued to play some of the best ball of his career\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just flowing, just taking what the defense gives me, not forcing anything,\u201d said Williams. \u201cMy mama, she from D-town, so shoutout to the fam in the arena watching. I had a little extra spirit with me today.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Williams scored 23 points, making five threes and eight free-throws, but it didn\u2019t stop there. Day\u2019Ron Sharpe, who fought Jalen Duren tooth and nail in the paint, closed over Nic Claxton. Fern\u00e1ndez even went offense\/defense down the stretch, showing some faith in Danny Wolf to get buckets.<\/p>\n
The Pistons, yukking it up in the first half as Kevin Huerter shot heat-checks and Daniss Jenkins took everybody off the dribble, looked mortified in the second half, running into a brick wall without Cunningham. They shot a grotesque 9-of-27 from TWO after halftime, with the Nets racking up five blocks in that span.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we found energy at the right time,\u201d said Fern\u00e1ndez. \u201cI think defensively, when you look at 43 points allowed in one half, you give yourself a chance to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Well, that\u2019s the truth. Here\u2019s Ziaire Williams\u2019 take: \u201cWe just never gave up. Shoutout Day\u2019Ron, big minutes down the stretch. It was a team win, just glad we got it done.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Detroit\u2019s 23-point lead approached single-digits, but a quick run at the start of the fourth quarter pushed it back to 17. It wasn\u2019t safe. Ziaire Williams hit two huge threes, Detroit couldn\u2019t stop fouling, and it set up a stupid, wacky ending that both teams, quite frankly, deserved to lose. (Maybe more the team that blew the big lead\u2026)<\/p>\n
I still can\u2019t make sense of it. My best guess is that Noah Clowney got out over his skis trying to put the game away with a dunk instead of catching the ball, which set up another Nets blunder on the ensuing defensive possession: Up two points, they lost track of\u2026Duncan Robinson. Who missed. Brooklyn\u2019s fourth-quarter execution was splendid, but uh, that real late-game execution? It might need some work heading into next season.<\/p>\n
Duren, however, missed the fadeaway jumper over Sharpe to seal what I would otherwise consider a devastating outcome for both sides if I hadn\u2019t seen the emotion on Brooklyn\u2019s sideline\u2026<\/p>\n
![\"<p>Joe](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/6739fdd1ee05b34230a5fdd774467310.jpeg\"\/)
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