Nets at Pistons
Eight losses in the last nine games, capped by a last-second setback in a must-win game on Tuesday, have the Detroit Pistons teetering on the brink of irrelevancy in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons will try to pull out of the funk and get back into the race when they host the NBA-worst Brooklyn Nets on Thursday.
Detroit had a chance to gain ground on the eighth-place Miami Heat but could not secure a rebound in the final seconds and watched Hassan Whiteside's left-handed tip at the buzzer send the Pistons to a 97-96 loss. "That one hurts," point guard Ish Smith told reporters. "I guess that’s the best way you can explain it. It hurts because we fought, we battled. It was a fun game to be a part of. Somebody had to lose it. I was hoping it wasn’t going to be us. But it was." Detroit will play five of its final six games against teams in the top eight of the respective conferences after finishing up with the Nets, who earned an 98-96 home win over the Pistons on March 21. Brooklyn won three of four beginning with that triumph but dropped a 106-101 decision to the Philadelphia 76ers at home on Tuesday.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, YES (Brooklyn), FSN Detroit-Plus
ABOUT THE NETS (16-58): Brooklyn will swap first-round draft picks with the Boston Celtics this June, so it isn't attempting to tank for lottery balls and is instead playing hard down the stretch as center Brook Lopez tries to drag the team to wins. Lopez scored a game-high 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting to go with nine rebounds and six assists on Tuesday and scored at least 23 points in eight of the last 10 contests, but remains hard on himself after every setback. "We didn't handle the game the way we should have," Lopez told reporters after Tuesday's loss. "They were able to hang around and have their way, and that's how the game goes when you play like that. ... I'm disappointed in ourselves."
ABOUT THE PISTONS (34-41): Detroit did not reach 100 points in any of its last five games and eight of nine, and the team is missing the explosiveness provided by point guard Reggie Jackson last season. Jackson, who sat out the first five weeks with a knee injury and has not been 100 percent all season, missed the last two games and could be out the rest of the way. "I want to go out there and compete at the highest level each and every day, whether it be practice or in the games," Jackson told reporters after Tuesday's loss. "That is what we are compensated for and that is what we are paid for as players is to have a warrior mentality, run through walls each and every day, and find a way to get better. ... I trust in (the organization) and I trust in their decision. If I am allowed to play again, I am definitely going to cherish each and every moment on the court and play like it's my last."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Detroit SG Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is 4-of-21 from 3-point range over the last three games.
2. Brooklyn PG Jeremy Lin is 3-of-17 from beyond the arc over the last four contests.
3. The Nets took each of the first two meetings - both in Brooklyn - this season.