DETROIT — The Netsℱ༒ lost to the team everybody beats.
Dig an early hole. Don’t guard your yard. An🍌d get outworked on seco꧑nd-chance points.
It was a textbook trap game, and the Nets fell right in with a 118-112 loss to the woebegone Pistons before 🐎19,011 at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday night.
The Nets (25-38) allowed the first 11 pꦬoints of the game, falling behind by 18 in the first quarter.
“We can’t keep getting down by 18. This is the second game in a row. We had an opportunity t🐲o come back the last game … but we can’t keep living in that world,” interim coach Kevin Ollie said.
The Nets’ defensive failings cost them.
Brooklyn had to work all night to pull even 98-all midway through the✅ fourth quarter, only to run out of gas and concede a 9-0 run to the Pistons immediately thereafter.
The Nets were outscored 23-9 in second-chance points, the differen💧ce 𓆏in the game.
That was as much about their inability to stay in front of guards Jad𓃲en Ivey (game-high 34 points) and Cade Cunningham (32 points, 11 assists). The pair got into the paint at will, and drew help that caused havoc all evening.
“Yeah, if you’re𝕴 getting two fee🐭t in the paint every time around, we’ve got to help,” Ollie said.
“Yeah, t🍸hat’s tough. We just got to come out better on both ends,” said Mikal Bridges. “We have to do a better job of꧒ boxing out. Personally, boxing out, not ball watching.”
Dennis Schroder had 31 po🍸ints and eight assists, while Lonnie Walker IV shook off an illn𓂃ess to add 21 off the bench.
But leading scorer Bridges continued his recent 🦂struggles with just 13, while Brooklyn allowed 52.4 percent shooting.
It was the worst possible start to a seཧason-long six-game road trip, falling to the Pistons (10-52).
🐼The Nets stumbled right out of the gate, 0-for-6 with a couple of turnovers by the time Walker finally 💃scored.
The deficit swelled to 26-8 on a floater by former ❀Knicks benchwarmer Evan Fournier.
The Nets did respond w𒀰ith the next 10 points unanswe🔯red to get within 26-18 on a driving layup by Schroder.
They kept the momentum up, goi🌠ng ahead before the hal🔥f and leading 75-71 on Bridges’ layup off a Schroder feed.
But they conceded 12 un♔answered points. James Wiseman capped the run at the line, leaving Brooklyn down 83-75 with a minute remaining in the period. The Nets never led again.
The Nets pulled into a 9🦩8-all tie with 6:32 left on Trendon Watford’s free throws, but couldn🌳’t get over the hump.
They allowed nine straight Pisඣtons po🥃ints to essentially put it away.
Trailing 116-112 in the waning seconds, Schroder’s missed floater i🐼ced it.
“We can’t put [ourselves] behind the eight b💫all like that,” Dorian Finney-Smith said. “As a group, we’ve ဣgotta find ways to help each other, [Nic Claxton] doing his job of protecting the rim, and we’ve got to help him. As a team, we’ve got to just do our job at a higher standard.”
