Late spurt leads Detroit Pistons to much-needed win over Brooklyn Nets

147. 105. 64. Final. 100

B-. You’ve got to give credit to Jackson. He’s battling dehydration and, really, is in an overall rut. But even in a game where his defense varied from bad to horrible and his offensive game was wildly inconsistent, he came through — again. The Pistons needed somebody to take over late and Jackson did it. His  shooting line (8 of 20) isn’t pretty and Shane Larkin (14 assists and just 3 turnovers) killed him, but the Pistons don’t win if he doesn’t score those 7 points in the final minutes.. PG. Pistons. REGGIE JACKSON

SG. Pistons. KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE. B. Aggressive KCP is the best KCP. Wayne Ellington and Joe Johnson leave a lot to be desired defensively for the Nets, so it was good that Caldwell-Pope made them work. His defense was solid, although Ellington did make some 3-pointers.

B. It really isn’t difficult to shut down Johnson these days, but Morris did a good job negating him while putting together a pretty solid overall effort. The 12 points and 6 rebounds are expected, but 3 assists from him is big when the Pistons are struggling to move the ball as much as they are.. SF. Pistons. MARCUS MORRIS

Pistons. ANDRE DRUMMOND. B. Brook Lopez took him to school all night down low, but Drummond really woke up on the boards and offensively tonight. He shot effectively (10 of 15) and dominated on the glass with 18 boards. That aside, it was pretty tough to watch Lopez pull out every trick in the book tonight.. C

Effective as he can be, Ilyasova scored 16 and rebounded better than normal. Six boards is more than fine if Drummond is collecting 18. There are still holes in Ilyasova’s game, but his shooting has been problematic lately and it was tonight as he went 1 of 5 from 3. Still, an effective night to score without the perimeter jumper.. PF. Pistons. ERSAN ILYASOVA. B-

Boy, when Tolliver and Ilyasova are struggling from 3 it can be really tough to watch the Pistons. I think Tolliver brought some energy, but he’s such a limited player when his jumper isn’t falling.. PF. Pistons. ANTHONY TOLLIVER. C

C+. The jumper and decision making are improving, but there are still lapses where — when the bench gives up a run — Johnson loses his way. Luckily those are becoming fewer and far between.. SF. Pistons. STANLEY JOHNSON

PG. Pistons. BRANDON JENNINGS. B-. Jennings had a part in Shane Larkin looking like Steve Nash tonight, but he really played a solid game from a playmaking perspective. He didn’t turn the ball over and he got the ball to guys in their spots — that’s what he needs to do. Now, his jumper is still off but that’s something that should round back into shape.

ARON BAYNES. C. Baynes didn’t do a whole lot tonight, but that’s alright because Andre Drummond looked like Andre Drummond. As solid as Baynes has been, I think everybody prefers the big Drummond game  over the big Baynes game.. C. Pistons

DARRUN HILLIARD II. C. With news that  Jodie  Meeks won’t be back anytime soon, Hilliard may find himself playing more than anticipated as the All-Star break rolls around. He’s been alright in limited stretches.. SG. Pistons

STAN VAN GUNDY. B. It’s hard for me to quantify Van Gundy’s impact on Jackson and Drummond. Obviously, when those two play well, this team is good. When they do not, it’s quite hard to watch. Both may be slumping simultaneously and maybe tonight was the breakout for both? Who knows. Maybe Van Gundy is pushing the right buttons now. I do know the Pistons defense <em>needs</em> to improve if they want to put together a pre-break run. The shooting issues will cure themselves, at least reverting back to where they were earlier in the year, but the defense is an issue. They allowed another 30-plus point quarter to the Nets and have made  it a habit of falling apart for at least one quarter a game. That’s a trend they need to buck, but I’m sure this is something Van Gundy know. He just needs to figure out how to fix it.. Head Coach. Pistons