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Pistons-Nets Preview

Mar 25, 2010 - 8:05 PM By ALAN FERGUSON STATS Writer

Detroit (23-48) at New Jersey (8-63), 8:00 p.m. EDT

With a surprisingly easy victory their last time out, the New Jersey Nets put themselves in good position to avoid the NBA's worst all-time record.

All they have to do is earn one win over their final 11 games.

The Nets will try to end the suspense early and record their first back-to-back victories in nearly a year Friday night against the visiting Detroit Pistons, losers of six in a row.

New Jersey (8-63) steadily pulled away from Sacramento over each quarter Wednesday night en route to a 93-79 victory that snapped a franchise-record 14-game home losing streak and a string of eight straight overall defeats. Brook Lopez led the way with 26 points and 13 rebounds, and Devin Harris added 24 points.

"It's always a nice feeling to win," Harris said. "It's been a rough year for all of us. It's a good feeling to see guys cheerful back in the locker room and excited about coming to work tomorrow. Hopefully, we can hang onto this and carry it into the next game."

The performance helped New Jersey move within one win of assuring no worse than a 9-73 finish, which would match the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers' league record.

The remaining 11 games appear to give the Nets opportunities to avoid that dubious mark. They'll play six games against opponents currently below .500 and three against Charlotte and Chicago - two of the six teams they've beaten.

New Jersey has dropped three straight and 11 of 13 to the Pistons (23-48), but both of those victories have come over the last three matchups at the Izod Center. In a 97-93 loss there Feb. 2, New Jersey trailed by two with 19 seconds left.

Four days later in Detroit, they rallied to within a point midway through the fourth quarter but came up short again in a 99-92 defeat.

This time, the Nets will face a Pistons team that's dropped 13 of 15 overall and nine in a row away from home for its worst road skid since 11 straight defeats Dec. 4, 2001-Jan. 11, 2002.

The Pistons lost 104-79 at Cleveland on Sunday and were beaten 98-83 at home by Indiana two days later.

After topping 100 points against those teams in its previous two games, Detroit has averaged 81.0 on 38.9 percent shooting during its latest two losses. Leading scorer Richard Hamilton, who averages 17.8 points, has missed 19 of his last 23 shots.

Hamilton, however, has shined in his last six games in New Jersey, averaging 24.2 points on 56.7 percent shooting. He's also led Detroit with 19.5 points per game in this season's two wins.

Lopez has paced the Nets with 23.5 points on 67.9 percent shooting, while Harris has averaged 22.5 points and 10.5 assists.

New Jersey last won back-to-back games April 11-13.