Kevin Durant, Nets fend off Pistons’ late charge
Kevin Durant #7 of the Brooklyn Nets reacts after a 96-90 win over the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on November 05, 2021 in Detroit, Michigan. Gregory Shamus/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Gregory Shamus / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Kevin Durant had 29 points, 10 rebounds and five assists as the visiting Brooklyn Nets held off a late Detroit rally to down the Pistons 96-90 on Friday.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 16 points and five rebounds and James Harden compiled 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists but also committed nine turnovers. Blake Griffin added 13 points and Bruce Brown chipped in 10 for the Nets, who have won four straight.
📼 | @KDTrey5 set a Nets franchise record with his 9th straight 20+ point game to open the season pic.twitter.com/Rqh1HGpLsR
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) November 6, 2021
Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 17 points. Kelly Olynyk contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Cory Joseph and Saddiq Bey added 12 points each.
Defenses ruled the opening half as it ended tied at 39 apiece.
Durant led the Nets with nine points but shot 3-for-11 from the field. Harden made just one of six shots while scoring seven. Cunningham paced the Pistons with nine points. Brooklyn shot 32.5 percent from the field, while Detroit made 33.3 percent of its attempts.
Brooklyn scored the first eight points of the second half, including five by Brown. After the Pistons closed to within three points, the Nets went on a 13-3 run to stretch their lead to 62-49. Durant and Harden began that spurt with 3-pointers. Harden had another 3 during that span and Griffin finished it off with a dunk.
Griffin’s 3-pointer with 2:29 remaining in the quarter gave Brooklyn a 72-57 lead. Durant had 12 points in the quarter as the Nets carried a 78-62 lead into the fourth.
Detroit started the quarter with a 9-2 run, which included two Frank Jackson 3-pointers.
With Brooklyn up 86-75, the Pistons made another run. Cunningham and Joseph made 3-pointers to pull Detroit within two at 88-86 with four minutes remaining.
A Durant floater doubled the Nets’ lead but Cunningham answered with a 3-pointer. Durant hit a mid-range jumper to make it 92-89.
Griffin then drew a charge against Bey and made an offensive rebound to set up Durant’s clinching layup with 12.9 seconds remaining.
KD's TOUGH take seals the @BrooklynNets win! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/wCPCtC8tez
— NBA (@NBA) November 6, 2021
