Detroit Pistons can’t overcome James Harden triple-double, fall to Brooklyn Nets, 100-95

Detroit Free Press

Omari Sankofa II | Detroit Free Press

Outside of Jerami Grant, the Detroit Pistons struggled offensively on Saturday. Against the best offense in the NBA, their shooting woes doomed them.

The Pistons fell to the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center, 100-95. It was Detroit’s third-consecutive loss, and ninth in 11 games. James Harden (24 points, 10 assists, 10 rebounds) scored the final 10 points for Brooklyn, which won its 12th game in 13 tries.

Grant led the Pistons with 22 points, but went scoreless in the fourth quarter. Saddiq Bey and Delon Wright scored 13 each, and Mason Plumlee finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

[ Meet Hamidou Diallo: New Piston is former Slam Dunk champ enjoying career year ]

Cold night from outside

It initially looked like the Pistons were in store for a hot shooting night, hitting their first three 3-point attempts in the game’s first four minutes.

They proceeded to miss a whooping 19-consecutive 3-point attempts, with their next one falling at the 7:18  mark of the third quarter. Somehow, they stayed in the games. Grant helped keep the Pistons afloat with 22 points through three quarters, and Brooklyn also struggled from outside, shooting 22.2%.

As a team, the Pistons only made eight of their 32 3-point attempts (25%).

McGruder showing his value

Rodney McGruder has suddenly emerged as a reliable rotation player, after spending most of the first half on the bench. He entered the game at the 4:55 mark of the first quarter, replacing Wayne Ellington, and didn’t sub back out until toward the end of the second quarter. He finished with 10 minutes, within which he made a number of good plays.

McGruder may be the best hustle player on the roster. He had three steals and scored mostly in transition or on second-chance opportunities. An airballed 3-pointer by Josh Jackson in the second quarter turned in McGruder layup, as he did a good job of tracking the missed shot. The Pistons cut the deficit to seven in the fourth after McGruder tracked another missed 3 and made a short midrange shot.

Two of McGruder’s steals happened while he was defending Harden and Irving, and he nearly forced a second turnover after knocking a ball loose in the second. He lost the jump ball to Harden.

The Pistons’ 24-point win against the Toronto Raptors on March 3 featured the best performance of the season for McGruder, who finished with 20 points and five assists in about 26 minutes. He’s played every game since, and his defensive energy and opportunistic scoring has been a lift for Detroit’s second unit.

Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @omarisankofa

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