AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — After the Nets collapsed Sunday night in Brooklyn against the Hawks, Deron Williams talked about how the seven-game, 13-day Circus Trip he and his teammates began last night against the Pistons would be a huge test for them both mentally and physically.
Williams then went out and made sure the trip got off on the right foot, scoring 31 points in 28 minutes as the Nets cruised to a 119-82 victory over Detroit in front of 16,072 inside The Palace of Auburn Hills.
The star point guard was spectacular, shooting 10-for-18 from the field – including 4-for-8 from 3-point range – to go along with five assists and two steals in leading the Nets to a much-needed bounce-back win after their lackluster showing Sunday.
The Nets (39-28) jumped out to an early 16-10 lead after Williams scored nine quick points and hit Gerald Wallace for an alley-oop dunk on the break and never looked back, easily dispatching the Pistons (23-46) for the third time in as many meetings this season.
Williams finished the first quarter with 14 points as the Nets jumped out to a 36-23 lead after one. The Nets shot 57 percent from the field and also went 10-for-12 from the foul line in the opening quarter.
After the two teams basically played to a draw in the second quarter, with the Nets entering the half with a 59-45 lead, it was the Williams Show all over again in the third. Williams, who has looked like a totally different player since the All-Star break after undergoing plasma rich platelet treatment and getting a third round of cortisone shots in his two ailing ankles, scored another 14 points in the quarter. That included scoring 11 of 14 Nets points late in the quarter as they finished on a 18-5 run that sent them into the fourth with a commanding 90-58 lead.
It was the kind of performance the Nets needed after their lackadaisical showing in the fourth quarter against the Hawks Sunday night robbed them of a chance to pull even with the Knicks atop the Atlantic Division.
Though the Nets were outscored in points in the paint, 52-42 – something that also happened in Sunday’s loss, much to the annoyance of interim coach P.J. Carlesimo – they did all of the little things against Detroit they failed to do against Atlanta. The Nets took care of the ball, committing just 10 turnovers, while dominating on the boards (41-33), blocking eight shots and drawing several charges.
It all added up to the Nets getting their fifth win in the past seven games and giving them a chance to tie the Knicks atop the Atlantic or the first time since Dec. 1 if the Knicks lost to the Jazz later in the evening in Utah.