the networksThe first win of the season didn’t spark any momentum. Two nights after Indianapolis broke through, they got back into the loss column on Friday at Barclays Center, falling to Detroit. Pistons 125-107 to drop to 1-8 and 0-5 at home.
Cade Cunningham (34) and Jalen Duren (30) powered the Pistons to a combined 64 points on a collective 57.6% shooting effort, while Michael Porter Jr. led the Nets with 28 points on 8-for-17 shooting from the field. But amid another frustrating night, one bright spot continued to shine in Brooklyn: Noah Clowney.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to justify keeping Clowney out of the starting lineup. Coming off the best game of his career on Wednesday, the third-year forward picked up where he left off, hitting four of his first five shots from deep and scoring 12 points in the first four minutes. His hot hand fueled a 5-for-6 start from long range for Brooklyn.
The Nets led by as many as 10 at the start of the first quarter, but nine turnovers in the period prevented them from pulling away. They settled on a two-point edge entering the second. Clowney’s four 3s were the most he ever made in a single quarter. He finished with 19 points on 5-for-13 shooting in 30 minutes.
Brooklyn committed just two turnovers in the second quarter, but as Clowney calmed down, so did the Nets. They shot just 40% in the period while Detroit caught fire, shooting 68.4% behind 10 points from Jalen Duren and nine from Cunningham. The Nets outscored the Nets 33-26 in the frame, ending the first half with a five-goal lead.
The absence of Cam Thomas opened the door for starters Igor Demin and Drake Powell to see extended minutes, as Demin earned the first start of his career. The 19-year-old looked poised and efficient, scoring eight points on two 3-pointers while adding five assists in his first 13 minutes. Powell didn’t find the same rhythm offensively but was impressed with his relentless full-court defense over Cunningham.
Both rookies stayed on the floor late, even as the game sagged. Detroit opened the third quarter on a 12-2 run to take a 72-57 lead with 9:05 left, with Cunningham scoring 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting. Brooklyn, meanwhile, shot just 4-for-19 in the period, with half of those makes coming from Porter. Another promising start quickly unraveled, and the Nets entered the fourth quarter down 20 points.
The deficit never dipped below 18 points the rest of the way and both teams vacated their benches down the stretch. Brooklyn will get its next chance to regroup on Sunday against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.