Pistons drop contest to Brooklyn 116-104

4/4/2014

NEW YORK  — Shaun Livingston scored 23 points, Mirza Teletovic made six 3-pointers and added 20, and the Brooklyn Nets beat the Detroit Pistons 116-104 today to extend their home winning streak to 15 games.

Brooklyn made seven straight from beyond the arc in the second quarter to take control, led by Teletovic, who made four. In all, the Nets outscored Detroit 35-9 over a span of 8:23 to take a 51-31 advantage.

The Pistons, who once trailed by 22, cut the deficit to nine at one point in the fourth quarter, led by Andre Drummond, who scored 23 and pulled down 18 boards. But Brooklyn was too balanced, putting six players scored in double figures.

Brooklyn remained 2½ games behind the Toronto Raptors, who beat Indiana on Friday night, in the race for the No. 3 seed in the East.

At times, it looked as though the Nets just couldn’t miss from 3-point range. In addition to Teletovic’s six 3-pointers, Paul Pierce and Marcus Thornton added 3 apiece. Brooklyn successfully moved the ball and found the open man, led by Deron Williams, who had 10 assists.

Detroit was unable to capitalize on its huge advantage on the glass. The Pistons outrebounded Brooklyn 37-22, including a 16-2 edge on the offensive boards. But any gains they made on the interior were quickly given back on the perimeter, where the Nets had open looks all night.

The biggest beneficiary was Teletovic, who scored his 20 points in just 23 minutes of action. In all, the Nets were 15 for 31 from behind the arc and topped 110 points for the eighth time this season.

Notes: The game was the first of a back-to-back for Brooklyn, its 18th of the season. The Nets are 13-5 in back-to-back openers. They head to Philadelphia on Saturday night. .The Pistons had won three straight against Brooklyn dating to last season. .The Nets are now 32-7 when scoring more than 100 points.