Blake Griffin’s return to Detroit to face his old Pistons teammates was chippy to say the least.
The Nets pulled out a 113-111 victory, bouncing back from a short-handed loss in Utah, but they will feel that win when they wake up in the morning. It took five technical fouls, a flagrant foul ejection, and nearly 60 total personal fouls before a victor was decided.
Griffin and Pistons center Isaiah Stewart set the tone early with double technical fouls. Griffin later “flailed” his arm into Stewart’s face, to which Stewart retaliated with a closed fist into his ex-teammates grill. Detroit’s rookie center was ejected shortly after, and Griffin was assessed a foul for his actions as well.
“I’ve got a lot of love for the players over there,” Griffin said after. “They play hard. We knew it was going to be a dogfight.”
It was a clobber fest in Detroit: Nic Claxton took an inadvertent whack to the face from Griffin, and Tyler Johnson grimaced from a number of hits.
That’s what it takes to beat these Detroit Pistons. They weren’t the Bad Boy Pistons that took down Michael Jordan, but they tried with their best impersonation to take down Griffin.
“They definitely protect the paint. Physical. They play really hard,” Nets head coach Steve Nash said pregame. “(Pistons head coach Dwane Casey) really has them playing with a lot of spirit and energy. They’re going to match our energy and then some. We’ve got to come out and match theirs and play with as much intent and purpose as we can, not take anything for granted.”
It was expected. Griffin only lived up to his talents for one of his two-plus seasons in Detroit. After averaging 25 points per game his first season, he underwent back-to-back knee surgeries and never regained his full form. This season, he only played in 20 games with the Pistons before separating from the team while the organization sought a trade.
The Pistons failed to find one and eventually agreed to buy Griffin’s contract out, paving the way for him to sign as a free agent in Brooklyn.
Griffin jawed with every basket. He finished a two-handed alley-oop — against the franchise he hadn’t dunked for since Dec. 2019 — then immediately looked at the Pistons bench and gave them some words. He finished with 17 points in 20 minutes, including a pair of 3s on a pair of attempts. It was his best game as a Net, one they needed from him to come out victorious.
Yet with all the focus on Griffin, the Pistons lost track of James Harden.
Harden has side-stepped his way into the forefront of the MVP conversation. He carried the Nets with 44 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists all with a sore neck. He was dominant to start the fourth quarter, scoring or assisting on 13 of their first 16 points.
The Nets are now 2-1 against the Pistons this season, their sole loss serving as the turning point of the season. They are 17-3 since that Feb. 9 loss to Detroit, one of their worst defensive performances of the season.
And they will attempt to make it 18-3 when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves at Barclays Center on Monday.
