Nets run out of gas in loss to pistons

WITH one All-Star out injured and another banished to the locker room, the Detroit Pistons pulled it together to preserve their slim playoff hopes for at least another day.

Reggie Jackson scored 29 points, Stanley Johnson had 17 and the Pistons beat the Nets, 108-96, in Brooklyn on Sunday night. “Sometimes you have to figure out a way to win,” said Anthony Tolliver, a nine-year veteran who has played on nine different teams, this his second stint with Detroit. “Whenever things are not going your way or you have some guys go out, be it by injury or whatever you just have to figure out a way to win.”

Detroit, playing its third straight game without injured forward Blake Griffin, avoided elimination from postseason contention for at least one game. Griffin, acquired Jan. 30 from the Clippers, suffered a bone bruise in his right ankle during last Monday’s win over the Lakers.

Ish Smith had 17 points, all in the first half, and Andre Drummond added 13 points and 14 rebounds for the Pistons before being ejected in the third quarter. Detroit has won five straight for the third time this season.

“Our defense was good. Both teams were on fumes going down the stretch,” Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said. “We were just walking the ball up the floor. We had nothing, but we just grinded it out. So, it’s a good win.”

The Pistons are four games behind Miami — which holds the eighth and last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference — with five games remaining for each team. The Pistons have not made the postseason since 2016, when they got swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round.

Brooklyn was led by reserve Joe Harris and Jarrett Allen, who each had 15 points. Detroit started off the second half with a 14-point advantage and saw it increase to 20 on Drummond’s alley-oop dunk with 3:56 left in the third quarter.

The Pistons then missed six straight shots as the Nets took off on a 12-0 run that bridged the end of the third quarter — which included a minor shoving match between Drummond and Brooklyn forward Quincy Acy in which both got ejected with 18.6 seconds left— and the opening minutes of the fourth.

The Pistons went 2-0 to conclude their brief weekend visit to the Big Apple. Detroit held on for a 115-109 victory over the Knicks at the Garden on Saturday night. The Pistons also beat Brooklyn earlier this season at Barclays Center.