Pistons at Nets final score: Detroit above .500 after blowout win

The Detroit Pistons now have a winning record at 19-18.

The Brooklyn Nets must’ve realized they weren’t going to beat the blazing-hot Detroit Pistons because they decided to sit 10 PLAYERS as they’re now doing their best to Capture the Flagg. Last year, good teams used to rest their players against Detroit because they still were going to win – now, bad teams are resting their players because they know they weren’t going to beat the Pistons anyway!

I kid, I kid – but look at Brooklyn’s inactive list. I’ve never seen any NBA team essentially missing an entire rotation.

Malik Beasley got the start again for Detroit as Ausar Thompson was still out with an illness. He was the only Piston in double-digits in the first half and led the Pistons to a blowout win over Brooklyn where the second-round rookies were finally able to see their first NBA minutes. Detroit was able to stand out against a bad team, as good teams do, and they now have a winning record. The Tim Hardaway Jr picture you saw when clicking into this article is every Pistons’ fan reaction to watching an above .500 team.

Detroit started the game off on an 18-7 run, and a Jalen Duren steal and coast-to-coast slam forced Brooklyn to take a timeout. All five starters were contributing offensively. However, Brooklyn closed the quarter on an 18-9 run. Cade was subbed out at the three-minute mark and Detroit only scored four points with him on the bench – all four coming from Simone Fontecchio, including dropping this Italian hammer on Clowney.

Detroit led 27-25 heading into the second. Most of the first half felt a little disappointing after the hot start to begin the game. However, the offense was actually able to produce with Cade on the bench where Beasley, Sasser, Tobias, and Sasser again hit four consecutive threes to push the lead to 14. Detroit ended the half up 59-49.

Beasley led the way with 16 first-half points and three threes while THJ and Tobias both added seven points. It was a slow half for Cade who had five points on five shots and three turnovers, but it was nice to see some more offensive contribution from bench guys like Sasser and Fontecchio. Stew and Duren combined for five blocks as well.

It took until the third quarter, but Detroit was finally able to put their foot on the gas as they outscored Brooklyn 32-21 to take a 91-70 lead. Cade and Tecc both contributed a team-high eight points in the third. Detroit again was able to extend the lead with Cade on the bench as they outscored Brooklyn 12-4 during the last three-and-a-half minutes. Ron Holland had a couple of sweet dimes to his teammates as he was seeing the floor well when he wasn’t converting more tough layups in the paint.

The fourth quarter started with three straight threes from Fontecchio, Beasley, and Sasser as they helped extend the Detroit lead to 25. For the first time this season, it was these three who carried the Pistons all night. Thanks to that trio, Bobi Klintman was able to get on the court for the first time in his NBA career with four minutes left in the game. Daniss Jenkins got in on the fun, too!

With the game put away after the third quarter, Beasley was the only starter who saw any minutes in the fourth quarter. Detroit plays on a back-to-back tomorrow night, so I’m sure JB Bickerstaff was happy about getting his starters a little extra rest. Beasley (23), Simone (17), and Sasser (15) led the way for the Pistons as the sharpshooters combined to hit 12 of the team’s 15 threes.

Cade had 13 points, five rebounds, and five assists in only 23 minutes. Both Stew and Duren looked great on the defensive end – Duren had two steals and two blocks while Stew had two steals and four blocks. The Detroit Pistons are now 8-1 in their last nine games and will host the Golden State Warriors tomorrow night.