The Brooklyn Nets came out firing Friday night, only to watch the game slip away in ugly fashion over the middle two quarters.
Brooklyn built an early cushion and even pushed the lead to 10 points in the second quarter, but Detroit seized control from there and rolled to a 110-94 win at Barclays Center in the Emirates NBA Cup opener. The Nets were sharp to start and showed some fight late, but the stretch in between was brutal. The Pistons outscored them by 33 points across the second and third quarters, and that was the difference.
Brooklyn was already shorthanded before tipoff. Second-year guard Egor Dëmin sat out after being diagnosed with a bone bruise in his right leg following Tuesday’s overtime loss to the Boston Celtics. The team said Dëmin will be reevaluated in one week, which means he is expected to miss at least the next four games.
That opened the door for Chaney Johnson, who made his second career start and first of the season. He joined Nolan Traoré, Michael Porter Jr., Julius Randle, and Day’Ron Sharpe in the opening group, while Keon Ellis came off the bench even though he had been expected to slide into the starting five.
The Nets wasted no time making an impression. They opened on an 8-0 burst fueled by Porter, Randle, and Johnson, and Johnson quickly made his presence felt with a fast-break dunk after a steal. He later came flying back to erase Duncan Robinson with a transition block that had the home crowd buzzing.
Brooklyn kept the pressure on through the first quarter. Mo Wagner gave them a lift with eight points in the period, and Randle knocked down a pair of threes as the Nets took a 28-21 lead into the second.
Then the game turned.
Brooklyn stretched the margin to 10 early in the second after two Randle free throws, but Detroit answered with a run of its own. Robinson got hot, Brooklyn’s defense started leaking, and the Pistons began finding the kind of looks that can bury a team in a hurry.
Detroit grabbed its first lead on back-to-back Robinson trips to the line, and even when Porter briefly put Brooklyn back on top with a three, the Pistons closed the half on an 18-7 run to go into the break ahead 56-49. Detroit won the second quarter 35-21, with Robinson scoring 12 first-half points.
The third quarter was even worse for Brooklyn.
Cade Cunningham took over, scoring from everywhere as Detroit kept widening the gap. Ron Holland then caught fire late in the period, scoring 12 straight points for the Pistons and helping blow the game open. Detroit won the third 36-17, leaving Brooklyn with a mountain to climb entering the fourth.
The Nets did show some life in the final period, outscoring Detroit 28-18. Mikel Brown Jr. sparked that push with a steal and fast-break dunk, then added a floater and got to the line.
Wagner kept producing, and Danny Wolf knocked down three triples in the quarter. Terance Mann, making his season debut, also got on the board with a fast-break layup after a steal.
But the comeback never got close enough to matter.
Cunningham led Detroit with 20 points. Holland added 18 points and four steals, Robinson finished with 17 points and three steals, and Ausar Thompson posted 11 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and two steals.
Wagner paced Brooklyn with 16 points and eight rebounds. Randle had 15 points and eight rebounds, but the shooting line was rough: 4-of-13 from the field and five turnovers. Porter finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, and Brown added 10 points and four assists.
For Brooklyn, the story was the same one that keeps showing up: flashes of energy, then long stretches where the defense falls apart. The Nets had enough early and enough late to hint at what they can do, but the second and third quarters were a mess, and Detroit made them pay.
Brooklyn heads to Indiana on Sunday for a 5 p.m. ET matchup with the Pacers. The challenge won’t get any easier; Indiana beat the Nets 136-109 in Brooklyn just last Sunday.
In Other News...
Nets Young Core Ran Into The Same Frustrating Problem Again
Chaney Johnson got the start in place of Egor Dmin on Friday night, a change forced by the bone bruise that has sidelined Dmin and left Brooklyn shuffling its young lineup again. The Nets actually grabbed an early lead against Detroit, but the familiar issues followed soon after, with the offense bogging down and the shots not falling as the game wore on.
Brooklyns problems only deepened in the third quarter, when the Pistons started to separate and the Nets found themselves chasing a game that had gotten away from them. By the time the fourth quarter arrived, the bench group was getting extended run for Mikel Brown Jr., Danny Wolf and Drake Powell, another reminder that this still-developing roster is trying to find answers while searching for its first win of the season. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Backcourt Shakeup Just Put One Rotation Battle In Focus
Jordi Fernandez is already reshuffling the Brooklyn backcourt three games into the season, and the move has quickly turned one of the rosters early questions into a live rotation battle. Nolan Traore got the nod in place of Keon Ellis and responded with a promising first start, finishing with 15 points and three assists before cramps forced him out of the game.
The bigger wrinkle is the health of Egor Demin, who had handled the point guard spot through the first three games before being sidelined. Chaney Johnson is set to start against the Detroit Pistons in his place, leaving Brooklyn to sort out both the short-term lineup and the longer-term fit in a backcourt that already looks unsettled. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Rotation Problem Is Putting Moritz Wagner Under Real Pressure
Moritz Wagner has given the Nets some useful scoring pop off the bench, averaging 10.3 points per game, but the fit has been far less tidy on the other end. Brooklyns defensive numbers have taken a hit with him on the floor, and the issue goes beyond one rough stretch. Wagner is more comfortable stepping out to defend the perimeter than anchoring the paint, which leaves coach Jordi Fernndez trying to balance a skill set the team can use against the interior resistance it still needs.
The problem is made trickier by the roster around him. Brooklyn does not have a deep pool of backup center answers, and the sample size is still small enough that the staff has to decide how much weight to put on early returns. Fernndez also has to factor in Wagners contract, which makes any rotation adjustment more than a simple short-term tweak, and the next stretch could say a lot about how long the Nets keep leaning on him in that role. [Read more 🡒]