NEW YORK _ Spencer Dinwiddie has a knack for making his former team miserable. Dinwiddie scored a game-winner last season in Detroit, and his corner 3-pointer with 7.1 seconds left in overtime Wednesday night at Barclays Center gave the Nets a hard-fought, 120-119 win over the Pistons to end a three-game losing streak.
With D'Angelo Russell on the bench most of the fourth quarter and overtime, it was Dinwiddie who led the Nets back from a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit. He finished with 25 points, and the Nets (3-5) got 23 from Joe Harris. The Pistons (4-3) were led by Blake Griffin (25), Andre Drummond (24, 23 rebounds) and Reggie Jackson (21).
The Nets managed to win despite making only 12 of 38 (31.6 percent) from 3-point range.
Down nine early in the fourth, the Nets got a three-point play by Harris and a layup by Dinwiddie to cut their deficit to 88-84. A Harris 3-pointer cut the Pistons' lead to 97-94 with 5:21 left, but Jarrett Allen missed a dunk and two foul shots on the next two possessions as the Pistons extended their lead to 103-96.
That's when Dinwiddie got the Nets back into it with his four-point play at 3:02 when he was fouled on a left-wing three to cut it to 103-100. The Nets finally came all the way back to take the lead on a Dinwiddie 3 and a three-point play by Allen for a 107-105 advantage with 1:31 left.
But Griffin responded with a 3 at the other end to put the Pistons on top 108-107. On the next possession, the Nets launched four 3s and missed them all. After two foul shots by Jackson with 22.6 seconds left, the Nets inbounded to Dinwiddie, who tied it at 110 with a left-wing 3-pointer with 20 seconds to go. The Pistons held for one last shot but Jackson's drive was stopped, sending the game to overtime.
Searching to explain the three-game losing streak, coach Kenny Atkinson suggested a rash of injuries had contributed to the Nets' early-season inconsistency. "With both units, we just need more time together," Atkinson said. "Our lineups haven't been together for long periods of time, so I anticipate the turnover (problem) to get better, and I think our chemistry will get better the more we can keep the stable lineups."
Atkinson stuck with the same lineup, and after missing their first five shots, the Nets' starters caught fire, building a 27-12 lead. But they quickly squandered that 15-point lead in spendthrift fashion.
Even though their stars, Drummond and Griffin, were on the bench, the Pistons put together an extended 21-3 run spanning the end of the first quarter and beginning of the second to take a 33-30 lead. Zaza Pachulia had six points, and Glen Robinson III chipped in five as the Nets hurt themselves with 1-of-9 shooting and three turnovers in that stretch.
The Nets responded with an 18-8 run of their own that included six points from Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to regain a 48-41 lead. But just as quickly, the Nets went cold as the Pistons finished the half on a 19-6 surge for a 60-54 lead. The final basket came on a brilliant play in which Griffin threw a pass three-quarters of the court, where it was dished to wide-open Jose Calderon for a left-wing 3 as the Nets failed to get back. It was a terrible ending to a quarter in which the Nets gave up 38 points.
The Pistons pushed their lead to a high of 10 midway through the third. For the second straight game, the Nets were misfiring from 3-point range, which made it difficult to generate consistent offense. Allen was effective inside on offense but was limited to just 12 minutes through the first three quarters because he had four fouls. The Nets narrowed their deficit to 83-77 entering the fourth.
