How the Detroit Pistons Claimed a Routine Victory Over the Brooklyn Nets

The Detroit Pistons continued to solidify their spot at the top of the East with a 130-77 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. Jalen Duren, who earned his first All-Star selection the same day, finished the night with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

His All-Star teammate in Cade Cunningham added 18 points, 12 assists and a game-high four steals. Nets center Nic Claxton responded with 10 points as he made an impact early for Brooklyn.

Nov 7, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) dunks in the third quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

A strange start saw a delay of game violation, a loose ball foul on Duren and a technical foul on Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff just one second into the Motor City matchup. Cooler heads prevailed as Detroit's frontcourt helped guide it through an out-of-sync start, which saw the Nets creep out to an 11-6 lead before a Pistons timeout.

A first-quarter turnaround saw Detroit flip the script with a comfortable 9-point difference by quarter's end behind 16 points in the paint.
Detroit's big duo of Duren and Isaiah Stewart would end the matchup with a solid clip from the floor as they, along with the Pistons' bench unit, helped right the ship when they needed it the most. The Pistons would end the game with an absurd 70 points in the paint to Brooklyn's 30 to pair with 63 bench points.

Brooklyn nearly came storming back in the second quarter behind two 3-pointers from guard Cam Thomas, but a string of close-up strikes and steals negated the sudden surge from the Nets and put the game away far before the final horn. The Pistons pushed ahead to an astounding 38-point lead by the end of the third quarter as they allowed just three makes on 15 tries from the Nets in the quarter. Detroit would add on 17 steals on the night to Brooklyn's three. Thomas would end the game with 12 points off the bench for the Nets as he knocked down three of his six 3-point attempts.

Detroit will face the Nets twice more in early March.

The home-and-home series will only be broken up by a road game against the Miami Heat, who the Pistons are 1-1 against in their winning season. Detroit last fell to the Nets in the regular season in 2024, when Thomas and now-Cleveland Cavaliers guard Dennis Schröder dropped a combined 56 points just a few games before Detroit rounded out its 2023-24 campaign. The Nets will fall to 9-20 against Eastern Conference opponents, while Detroit still holds a East-best 79.3% win percentage in conference play.

The Pistons will remain at home when they take on the Denver Nuggets, who currently hold a top-3 spot in the Western Conference. Detroit ended a recent string of matchups against Western opponents with a record of 4-2. Its run included a close win over Denver that saw the duo of Cunningham and Tobias Harris score a combined 44 points.

The Pistons will face the Nuggets at 7 p.m. EST on Tuesday in Little Caesars Arena. The game will be broadcast on FanDuel Sports Network - Detroit.