NBA

Nets sparked by Lopez return

Avery Johnson was staying true to his word. The Nets coach told the world, all the ships at sea and any who would listen that Brook Lopez, just returning from a seven-game absence with a sprained right foot, would play half the game last night against the Pistons.

At the end of regulation, Lopez had played 23:50, virtually half of a 48-minute NBA game. The problem was, the Nets needed two overtimes to dispatch Detroit, 107-105, at Barclays Center. So technically, Lopez had time coming. And he wanted back in the game.

“I was hoping,” Lopez admitted. “But the group he had on the floor did a great job.”

Lopez knows Johnson well enough to know any lobbying for additional time would have been pointless, even after Andray Blatche fouled out at 3:50 of the first OT.

“I knew that wasn’t a wise decision,” Lopez said with a smile.

Lopez finished with nine points (4-of-10 shooting), four rebounds, three blocked shots and a bucketful of hope he’ll play tonight in Chicago.

“We’ll make that decision [today] but Brook looked fine to me,” Johnson said. “Obviously he missed a few shots, but [he had] three blocked shots.”

Lopez, who last played Nov. 28 — the Nets were 2-5 in his absence — is vital to the team’s success. The trickle-down effect places Blatche on the bench, where his value and production soar against second-liners. So the campaigning for a back-to-back scenario began in earnest.

“[Lopez] looked good,” Deron Williams said. “It seemed like he picked up right where he left off. Offensively and defensively he was big for us. We definitely missed him, so it’s good to have him back.

“It looked like he can play [tonight].”

Johnson, of course, is judge, jury and minutes dispenser in that matter. Again, Lopez will stop just short of slipping his coach a blank check to play tonight.

“I feel like I could, but I don’t know if the decision is up to me so we’ll see what happens,” said Lopez, who never missed time before last season, when he was limited to just five games because of a broken right foot and a subsequent additional foot ailment.

See why the Nets have placed “caution” high atop their Lopez activity sheet?

Lopez said he felt no apprehension at the outset and credited a lively 3-on-3 practice session on Thursday with helping prep him for Detroit.

“It was great,” he said of his return. “I felt very good no problems. I was just happy to be out there playing with our guys. I feel great, honestly.”

Except maybe for that first shot. Less than two minutes into the game, Lopez tried a hook shot … and nailed the side of the backboard.

“Just a matter of getting my timing back,” he said.

Along with a sense of direction.

One guy who wasn’t all bubbly about seeing Lopez return was his first pro coach — Lawrence Frank, in his second season directing the young Pistons.

“I’m still trying to bribe him,” Frank said, deadpan, before the game. “I’m willing to offer him four Disney passes to go on any ride he wants — those of you who know Brook know he is a Disney fanatic — for him not to play.”