In the NBA regular season, the Nets challenged the Pistons away, Harden was absent from the round in this game, Nash sent James Johnson to start, the Pistons side of Grant was absent due to injury, and the strength of the Nets was better. After the opening, the Nets took an early lead under Durant, and the Pistons led the team by Canningham to chase the score and achieve a rebound in the second quarter, but durant returned to the final moment to help the Nets take the lead again, and since then the two sides have engaged in a fierce tug-of-war, and the score has been tight.
After the opening, the Nets hit back-to-backs to start 8-2, before Cunningham stepped up to lead the team to chase the score, but Mills threw two consecutive 3-pointers to extend the point difference to 14-6 to stop the Pistons. Back from the timeout, the Pistons intended to attack the Nets penalty area, Sadik Bay and Stewart scored consecutive baskets, Durant immediately stepped forward, chasing 3 points, shooting and three-point fouls, Ard also used accurate shots to score consecutive points, the Nets quickly stabilized the situation and once pulled the point difference to double digits, and Griffin also performed well in front of his old club after the debut, even sent a block assist, and also caused the opponent to attack the foul, before the end of the first quarter, Cunningham hit 3 points to help the Pistons chase the score to 24-31! After hitting two 3-pointers in the first quarter, Mills hit 1,300 career 3-pointers, becoming the 22nd player in the game to achieve 1,300 3-pointers, and he has also shot 80 3-pointers this season, becoming the Nets' most 3-pointers this season.
In the second quarter, Durant, who played the first 12 minutes, was resting off the field, Brown threw the first shot to score, but Fran Jackson immediately grabbed the Nets defensive loophole to cut the basket to complete an easy layup, the Nets side, the former Spurs double Ard and Mills became the two main offensive points of the Nets' second lineup, Mills clever pass Ader completed a close-range shot, but Fran Jackson immediately hit a 3-pointer, McGrud made two consecutive layups, the Pistons chased the score to 34-38, Nash timed adjustment. The timeout came back, Durant had not yet appeared, Fran Jackson threw 2 consecutive 3-pointers to help the Pistons to a 40-38 rebound, which was the first time the Pistons took the lead in the game, and then the Nets missed the attack, Saben Lee shot again, until Ader was fouled and sent to the free throw line with 2 free throws, and the Nets broke the scoring drought. With 6 minutes and 33 seconds left in the second quarter, Durant was back on the line.
Durant quickly made a foul on the free throw line, followed by another stop-and-go jump shot, followed by another 3-point shot, and he scored seven consecutive points to help the Nets reverse the score to 47-46, and the Pistons were forced to time off. Back from the timeout, Stewart scored from the basket, James Johnson responded with a breakthrough layup, Durant was sent to the free throw line again, the two sides began a fierce tug-of-war, the score alternately rose, and the half game ended, and the Nets led 60-57.
In Harden's absence, Adu ushered in an early outbreak, and cut 22 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists in the half, and the performance was unstoppable. Ader contributed 13 points and 4 rebounds, while Mills contributed 14 points and 5 assists. On the Pistons side, Cunningham contributed 16 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists, and Frank Jackson became a surprise soldier and scored 14 points.