Pistons vie to bounce back with Nets in town

(SportsNetwork.com) - The winning streak is over for the Detroit Pistons, but they have no time to reflect on it with the Brooklyn Nets in town Saturday.

The Pistons were 7-0 after parting ways with Josh Smith and the streak ended with Friday night's 106-103 loss to the Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta Hawks at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Atlanta led by more than 20 points in the game until the Pistons put forth a spirited comeback, led by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who scored 16 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and his 3-pointer made it 105-101 with a minute to go.

After Hawks forward Al Horford lost the ball on an inbounds pass, the Pistons had one shot left with two seconds remaining and down by three. They got the ball to Caldwell-Pope, but his heave from beyond the arc fell short.

"We didn't come ready to play at all," said Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy. "We played with no energy and intensity in the first half. We had better energy in the second half and especially down the stretch."

Kyle Singler scored 16 points, Greg Monroe had 15 and 12 rebounds, and Anthony Tolliver added 15 points off the bench for Detroit. Andre Drummond battled an illness and was limited to 17 minutes, posting four points and five rebounds. Drummond and Monroe were a combined 7-of-20 from the field.

The Pistons are 4-14 at The Palace and will visit Toronto Monday night.

Detroit has scored 100 or more points in four straight and 10 of the last 11 games.

Meanwhile, the Nets have lost four in a row and came up empty on a recent three-game homestand versus Dallas, Boston and Philadelphia.

In Friday's 90-88 loss to the 76ers at Barclays Center, Nerlens Noel slammed home a feed underneath from Michael Carter-Williams. Brook Lopez, who tied the game at 88-88 on a short jumper, missed a desperation 3-point attempt at the buzzer.

"It's a bad loss," Nets coach Lionel Hollins said. "We wanted to win this one. This one was at home and it was a winnable game."

Lopez had 18 points, Mason Plumlee came down with 15 rebounds and scored 15 points, and Jarrett Jack ended with 14 points and 10 assists for the Nets. Jack is running the point in place of injured guard Deron Williams (rib).

Brooklyn will try to even its 8-9 road mark in Detroit and is scheduled to host Houston and Memphis next.

The Nets have beaten the Pistons twice this season and will go for the sweep Saturday night. They have won three in a row and seven of the last 10 matchups between the teams.

Joe Johnson is averaging 25.0 ppg against Detroit this season, while Drummond is posting an average of 16.0 points and 14.0 rebounds.