Nets 119 – Pistons 82

Nets went inside early to use mismatches and made it to free throw line often to get Detroit in bonus with eight minutes to go in first.  Deron Williams came out flying, pushing the pace and forcing Detroit fouls while scoring 9 points, dishing 3 assists and collecting 2 steals.  Nets up 25-14 with four left in first.    Big first quarter for Brooklyn with 36 points behind an unconscious Williams scoring 14 points and running the show. Nets lead 36-23 after one.

The Bench Mob started the second and Jerry Stackhouse came back from hiatus to score on his first two shots.  Nets up 40-27 early in second.  The bench extended the lead to 17 behind MarShon Brooks and Andray Blatche playing with pace. The Nets defense looked good to initiate the offense and they finished well. Williams returned and kept the scoring up with a 3-pointer to go into half with 17 points and 4 assists. Balanced scoring for Brooklyn and shooting 58 percent gave them a 59-45 lead at the break.

The third started much the same way as the first with Williams pushing the tempo and getting everyone involved.   The Nets defense was very good to start the third and it showed in their body language and uptempo play.  The Nets blew this open with a 31-14 quarter and ended with a 90-59 lead after three.  Williams added 14 more points in the quarter to have 31 after three.

[blockquote]PJ – Third quarter our defense was very very good. I thought they were very focused. We did a poor job closing out the first half but that was the one big mistake. I thought our ball movement was good all night and we didn’t turn the ball over very much. The second team played really well, blocked shots and they drew charges and a lot of the things we didn’t do well last night we did well tonight.[/blockquote]

The fourth began the same as the other three quarters with Blatche hitting a fadeaway 20 footer at the end if the shot clock.   Stackhouse and Brooks helped keep the pressure on and Mirza Teletovic got involved with 4 points and 5 rebounds.  Brooks was locked in tonight with 2 blocks and 2 charges taken which can only help his playing time. Nets up 94-62 with 8 minutes to play.  The lead grew to 37 points with four minutes left an they went on to win 119-82.

LEADERS:

Points – Williams 31

Rebounds – Evans 11

Assists – Williams/Watson – 5

GAME CHANGER: The third quarter put the game away with the Nets winning

STAT OF THE GAME: The Nets held the Pistons to an amazing 1-18 from deep and only 37 second half points.