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Grading the Detroit Pistons loss to the Brooklyn Nets

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Detroit Pistons (3-2) snap their three-game winning streak, falling to the Brooklyn Nets (2-3) 109-101 Wednesday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The Pistons split their first back-to-back of the season after falling to the Nets 109-101 Wednesday night. The Nets built as large as a 21 point lead after shooting 71 percent from the floor in the first half.

The Pistons mounted an exciting comeback in the second half to pull within four with less than a minute left. However, they could not overcome the big-time performances by Brook Lopez (34 points) and Sean Kilpatrick (24 points).

Here are the grades for the Pistons for Wednesday’s loss:

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

SG, Detroit Pistons

C+KCP was solid on defense as usual in the second half, but struggled to find his rhythm on offense against the Nets. His 15 points came on a 4-for-15 shooting night from the floor; six of those misses coming from beyond the 3-point line. He was much better in the second half by coming up with timely steals that turned into fast breaks for the Pistons. However, he also had a few too many key misses down the stretch that the Pistons could not overcome.

Marcus Morris

SF, Detroit Pistons

A-Marcus Morris led the Pistons on their second half comeback with the bulk of his 23 points coming in the second half. He was 3-for-5 from the 3-point line, and came up with three steals on a night where the Pistons, according to Stan Van Gundy in his postgame interview, “couldn’t guard anybody.”

Tobias Harris

PF, Detroit Pistons

B+Tobias Harris had another solid scoring night against the Nets, scoring 23 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the floor. Harris was able to penetrate the Nets defense regularly in the second half as the Pistons attempted their comeback. However, he was mostly invisible for much of the first quarter, and the Pistons were -11 with him on the floor, the worst plus-minus on the Pistons Wednesday night.

Andre Drummond

C, Detroit Pistons

D-Andre Drummond was a non-factor for the entire game against the Nets. Drummond had six points on 3-for-9 shooting while up against an unstoppable Brook Lopez in the first half. Drummond only played seven minutes of the third quarter before being benched by Stan Van Gundy in favor of Aron Baynes for the rest of the game.

Aron Baynes

C, Detroit Pistons

CAron Baynes came in for the majority of the second half after playing very few minutes in last night’s game against the Knicks. Van Gundy put Baynes in to replace Andre Drummond who Van Gundy said postgame had no energy to offer to the game. Baynes only scored four points and grabbed four rebounds in 19 minutes, but was the obvious choice over a dejected Drummond.

Ish Smith

PG, Detroit Pistons

CIsh Smith had a very quiet night against the Nets. Smith scored nine points and dished out seven assists. He struggled early on to find any kind of offense and was mostly a non-factor in the comeback the Pistons made in the second half.

Jon Leuer

PF, Detroit Pistons

B+Jon Leuer had a solid outing despite the woes of the team overall. Leuer scored 11 points on 5-for-8 shooting in 27 minutes. Leuer benefited from Drummond’s absence in the second half which allowed him to lead the Pistons bench in scoring and lead the team in plus-minus (+5).

Beno Udrih

PG, Detroit Pistons

C+Beno Udrih turned in a solid performance coming off the bench against the Nets. Udrih scored 10 points in only 17 minutes. Udrih continues to provide an offensive spark at the point guard position when coming in to replace Ish Smith.

Stan Van Gundy

Head Coach, Detroit Pistons

The Pistons return to the Palace on Saturday to take on the Denver Nuggets (1-2).

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