NBA: Red-hot Nets come back to beat Pistons
Kevin Durant #7 of the Brooklyn Nets shoots the ball against Kevin Knox II #20 of the Detroit Pistons during the second quarter at Little Caesars Arena on December 18, 2022 in Detroit, Michigan. Nic Antaya/Getty Images/AFP
Kevin Durant poured in 43 points, including 26 in the third quarter, as the visiting Brooklyn Nets extended their winning streak to six games by defeating the Detroit Pistons 124-121 on Sunday.
Kyrie Irving supplied 38 points for Brooklyn, which didn’t lead until the closing seconds of the third quarter.
Bojan Bogdanovic topped Detroit with 26 points. Jaden Ivey had 19 points, while Marvin Bagley III and Alec Burks added 12 apiece.
The Pistons’ bench outscored the Nets’ reserves 29-14 in the first half as Detroit rolled to a 71-54 halftime lead.
Detroit shot 58.7 percent from the field in the first half despite making only four of its 14 3-point attempts.
The Pistons grabbed their first double-digit lead just over four minutes into the contest on a Bogdanovic 3-pointer. They carried a 35-21 lead into the second quarter.
KD and Kyrie showed out in the Nets' comeback win 👀
KD: 43 PTS, 6 REB, 3 3PM
Kyrie: 38 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST, 5 3PM pic.twitter.com/y0BpDIa72J— NBA (@NBA) December 19, 2022
The Nets cut the deficit to seven at 51-44 midway through the second quarter on a Royce O’Neale 3-pointer. Detroit then outscored Brooklyn 20-10 for the remainder of the half.
The Pistons’ lead was back to single digits when Durant dunked four minutes into the second half, making it 78-69.
Durant was just getting warmed up. The Nets finished the quarter on a 21-7 run to take a 98-96 lead. It was all Durant, as he scored all but three of those points. He set up those other points, an Edmond Sumner 3-pointer, by making a block at the other end. Durant fired in three 3-pointers in the last 50 seconds of the quarter to give Brooklyn its first lead.
An Irving layup and O’Neale 3-pointer gave the Nets a 109-104 lead with 7:41 left. Durant’s pullup jumper with 4:15 left extended the lead to 118-111.
Bogdanovic made two free throws with 2:54 left to cut Brooklyn’s advantage to four. A steal by Killian Hayes and a 3-pointer by Bogdanovic with 40 seconds left cut it to one.
Irving made two of three free throws with 29 seconds remaining. Burks answered with a layup.
Durant then hit two free throws and Bogdanovic missed a 3-pointer on Detroit’s final possession.
