After putting together one of their best performances of the season in a double-overtime road loss against the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, the Detroit Pistons entered their first home game in nearly two weeks with an opportunity to build on their momentum.
The Brooklyn Nets have one of the NBA's most-stacked rosters after trading for James Harden last month. But they were without Kevin Durant on Tuesday due to the NBA's health and safety protocols.
The Pistons capitalized, handing the Nets a 122-111 loss at Little Caesars Arena to improve to 6-18 at the season's one-third mark.
Jerami Grant had one of his best performances of the season with 32 points, five rebounds and four assists. Delon Wright added 22 points, nine assists and four rebounds, and Mason Plumlee had 14 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.
Kyrie Irving led the Nets with 27 points and seven assists, and Harden added 24 points, 12 assists and six rebounds.
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Hot start sets Pistons up for success
On Saturday, the Pistons managed to snap a streak of cold first quarters against the Los Angeles Lakers. Detroit had shot 22-for-71 overall in its previous three first quarters, and it was a key reason why they went 0-4 during last week's road trip. In the first quarter against the Lakers, they shot 10-21 and entered the second quarter with a narrow lead — which helped them remain competitive against the defending champs and force two overtimes before falling.
That momentum carried over on Tuesday, as the Pistons had their best first quarter of the season against the Nets. They made 16 of their 24 attempts and scored a season-high 38 points in the period. They went into the second quarter with a 12-point lead, their biggest lead after the opening quarter since they led the Miami Heat by 12 points on Jan. 18.
The Pistons have been a much better in second-halves than first-halves this season, and cold starts are one of several reasons behind their record. They're 4-7 when they end the first quarter with a lead this season, and 1-11 when they end the first facing a deficit.
While maintaining leads has been an issue at times this season, it wasn't on Tuesday. Detroit extended their lead to 20 points early in the fourth, 49-29, and never trailed after 10:57 mark of the first.
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Jerami Grant, elite shooter
Grant has comfortably been Detroit's best player on both sides of the floor this season. His consistency on defense hasn't been surprising, but his continued evolution as an offensive weapon has become one of the NBA's more interesting storylines. He's off to a hot offensive start this season and has entered the Pistons' record books in several categories.
On Tuesday, he extended his streak of hitting at least two 3-pointers to 23 games. He already owned the franchise record, but he became the 10th player in NBA history to reach such a streak when he made his second 3-pointer midway through the third quarter.
Grant has become one of the NBA's best shooters from outside. And he's on pace to have his best season from behind the arc. His career-high in makes and attempts was with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2018-19, when he went 115-293 from outside. He's 62-157 through 24 games this season, and averaging a career-high in attempts per game.
It's one of the primary reasons why he's been such a consistent scorer, and is currently top-10 in frontcourt All-Star votes in the Eastern Conference. Before the game, Dwane Casey said Grant is his pick for the Most Improved Player award. He should certainly be in consideration, at this pace.
