Pistons rally in second half to take down cold-shooting Nets

The Nets’ first game of a back-to-back on Sunday looked like it had the right ingredients brewing for the team’s third straight win: Cam Johnson got off to a hot start with eight straight points; Detroit began playing like their 1-5 record suggested; and young star Cade Cunningham had yet to make any impact on the game.

To make matters worse for J.B. Bickerstaff’s squad, Johnson continued his torrid start into halftime. The Nets went into the intermission up five, getting 22 points from Johnson, the most by a Net this season through the first two quarters.

But Johnson, who shot 7-of-10 from the field (3-of-6 from deep) by halftime, cooled off in the third while the Pistons outscored the home team, 31-20. In that quarter, It was Detroit’s Tobias Harris leading the charge, helping the Pistons turn the game around to secure a 106-92 win at Barclays Center on Sunday evening.

Harris scored 18 points, including seven in the third quarter that helped turn the game around. Johnson, who finished with a game-high 26 points, went 1-of-4 in the third after looking sure to eclipse the 30-point mark for the first time this season.

But still, the Nets had a chance to get back into the game after entering the fourth quarter down just six points. The deficit, however, grew to 11 points after Cunningham scored with eight minutes remaining, forcing head coach Jordi Fernandez to call a timeout.

The Nets were unable to muster a comeback attempt and the team’s overall inefficiencies caught up with them. The Nets managed just 35 second-half points, three more than their tally in the second quarter.

Aside from Johnson, no other Nets player scored 10 points until Cam Thomas did following his jumper with 4:24 remaining in the third quarter. Johnson and Thomas, who finished with 17, were the lone Nets to score in double-digits.

On the other end, six Pistons recorded at least 13 points. Guard Jaden Ivey missed 11 of his 15 shots while recording 15 points, five rebounds and five assists. Malik Beasley scored 18 off the bench and former Knicks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. contributed 14 points.

Bickerstaff relied on a handful of players to close out the fourth while the Nets faltered at every chance down the stretch. Nic Claxton, who looked like he gained some traction in limited minutes off the bench, struggled with just eight points and a rebound in 22 minutes. The poor outing came after two games with a double-double and coming one rebound short of another in Friday’s win over the Bulls.

The next step for Claxton, per Fernandez, is to see how his body responds going into Monday’s second game of a back-to-back against the Memphis Grizzlies. The center has been coming off the bench after sustaining a hamstring injury and if his body responds well, a return to the starting lineup could ensue.

Ben Simmons, who recorded four points, six assists and six rebounds in Sunday’s loss, is out for Monday’s matchup as the Nets remain cautious after coming off lower back surgery.