Turnovers told the story before anything else had a chance to. The Nets handed the ball away 25 times Sunday night at Little Caesars Arena. The Detroit Pistons turned those mistakes into 39 points, shot 56.5% from the floor and committed just eight turnovers themselves. By the time it was over, Broo klyn walked off with a 130-77 loss, falling to 13-35 in a game that was over long before the final buzzer. It was the third-most lopsided loss in franchise history. Cam Thomas and Drake Powell finished with 12 points apiece to lead the Nets. All 12 players who saw the court for Detroit scored at least four points. Brooklyn went just 7-for-31 from deep. Detroit lived in transition. Every empty Nets possession seemed to turn into something easy at the other end. With Michael Porter Jr. out again for personal reasons, Nic Claxton carried Brooklyn through the opening minutes, scoring 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting in the first quarter, tied for his most in any period this season. It still wasn’t enough to keep the Nets from chasing. The biggest gap showed up at the free-throw line. Detroit went 11-for-11 in the first quarter, six of those makes coming from Tobias Harris. Brooklyn attempted just five free throws and missed all five of its 3-point attempts in the period. The Pistons led 33-24 after one, even with Claxton’s effort, as the Nets shot 41.7%. Tempers flared, too. Both Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff and Nets coach Jordi Fernández picked up technical fouls in the first quarter. Brooklyn’s second unit gave it a brief pulse. Thomas led an 8-0 run to open the second quarter, trimming the deficit to one by the 9:51 mark and forcing Detroit to reset. It didn’t last. The Pistons answered with an 11-2 burst of their own to stretch the lead to 51-38 with 4:51 left in the half. Cade Cunningham began to assert himself at the rim. Detroit kept running. Brooklyn’s offense stalled against a defense that leads the league in steals and blocks. By halftime, the Nets trailed 67-44. The Pistons were shooting 54.5%, owned a 36-24 advantage in the paint and had already turned 10 Brooklyn turnovers into 16 points, six of them coming in the second quarter alone. Claxton, who played just 12 minutes in the first quarter, was the only Net in double figures at the break. Cunningham had 13 of his 18 points and 10 of his 12 assists in his first 19 minutes. The third quarter erased any remaining doubt. Nolan Traoré lost the ball. Then Danny Wolf did. Misses from Wolf and Egor Dëmin followed. Detroit opened the period on an 8-0 run, forcing Fernández into an early timeout as the Pistons pushed the lead to 31. Out of the timeout, Traoré and Wolf turned it over again, and the pressure never relented. Jalen Duren took over the period, scoring 12 of his game-high 21 points in the third as Detroit outscored Brooklyn 33-18 and forced nine more turnovers. The Pistons crossed the 100-point mark with 30.7 seconds left in the quarter and went into the fourth up 38. If it wasn’t over already, it was seconds into the final period. Ron Holland picked Thomas’ pocket near midcourt and finished an uncontested dunk to stretch the lead back to 40. Brooklyn never recovered from the early avalanche of mistakes. The Nets are now 1-9 when Porter sits, and this one served as a reminder of how thin the margin becomes when possessions are wasted and transition defense has to scramble all night. With a 1-4 road trip complete, the Nets will return to Barclays Center on Tuesday to face the Los Angeles Lakers. ...read more read less