The Nets' Devin Harris, left, and Jarvis Hayes, right, lay injured on the court after colliding with each other as the Pistons' Rodney Stuckey jumps over Hayes.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – If this wasn’t a sign they’re getting closer, they can’t be any more explicit.
Not only did the Nets actually have a lead in the last seven minutes of the game – don’t get silly, they didn’t hold it – they finished the game with two guys being helped off after a demolition derby encounter at midcourt with the game still up for grabs.
Call it the most poignant image of a self-destructive season: The Nets finished the game in a 2-for-11, two turnover meltdown before dropping a 99-92 decision to the Pistons at the Palace, where Devin Harris and Jarvis Hayes smashed into each other in a valiant bid to keep their slim hopes of a rare victory alive.
“It’s been that kind of season,” Harris said.
All X-rays were negative, and the official toll was a sprained left shoulder for Harris and a bruised left shin for Hayes.
The condition of their egos after their sixth straight close loss was still undetermined, but everything is in play when you’re 4-46.
“This was one we felt like we could have had,” Hayes said. “We couldn’t put it away.”
The game was almost an afterthought, however, when the collision occurred, and it was almost easy to forget that the Nets still had a chance to steal it when Harris missed a baseline shot with 30 seconds to play.
That’s when Brook Lopez backtapped the rebound, and a mad scramble ensued. With the possession still up for grabs, Harris and Hayes met head-on at midcourt for the loose ball.
At full speed, Hayes was open and unable to protect himself. Harris ducked, and accordioned his shoulder into Hayes’s leg.
“I thought he saw me out of the corner of his eye,” Harris said of Hayes. “But once he didn’t I had to go low, I tried to duck out of the way as best I could. After that, I just remember seeing them all crossing halfcourt, with them going in for a layup. I thought someone would at least tip it out of the way.”
Insult to injury, indeed: With both men already down and in need of medical attention, Kris Humphries tried to pitch it out to any red shirt still standing. But it was picked off by Rodney Stuckey near midcourt, where he literally vaulted Hayes and fed Tayshaun Prince for the clinching layup with 18.2 seconds left.
“Double-whammy,” said Harris, who had a strong night (21 points, seven assists) that included three 3-pointers. “We were right there. We fought back, got good looks at the basket. That play, it put it out of reach for us.”
And it was in reach. The Nets had a lead, 86-85, with 7:01 left and one chance to build on it, but — like clockwork — that’s when their execution got shaky.
There was an off-the-dribble heave by Terrence Williams – not his strength – that was turned into a Stuckey push and a Rip Hamilton 3. The next six possessions yielded just one foul shot. The Pistons got two key lane penetrations, both drawing Lopez over to help, and both times Jason Maxiell made the Nets pay with scores, giving Detroit a 93-87 lead at 2:43.
Courtney Lee hit a 3-pointer with 2:12 left – that was the Nets’ only field goal over the last seven minutes, until a meaningless score with 15 ticks left — but Stuckey made it a two-possession game at the line (95-90), and the Nets missed three open shots, the last one ending in the crash.
“We put ourselves in a place to win the ball game down the stretch,” said Kiki Vandeweghe, whose team rallied from 12 down two minutes into the third quarter. “Unfortunately we made some mistakes — really silly mistakes, which took us out of it. But the guys are playing hard. I cannot fault the effort. We just have to get a little smarter down the stretch, and that comes with experience.”
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