Two Nets hurt in loss to Pistons

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – The clock was winding down on another Nets’ loss and things went from bad to worse on one play.

In the waning moments of Saturday’s 99-92 defeat to the Pistons, Devin Harris and Jarvis collided in midair as they pursued a loose ball. Both men lay on the floor near midcourt for several moments before being helped up and into an examination room.

X-rays on both were negative. Harris has a sprained AC joint in his left shoulder and Hayes a bruise on his left lower leg. Both are day-to-day.

The Nets don’t play until Tuesday, so it’s possible one or both could return by then. But Hayes was limping badly as he left and Harris said he only could lift his left arm about three-quarters over his head.

It’s the same shoulder Harris injured last year against the Clippers when Marcus Camby fouled the Nets’ guard. Harris missed seven games, but that was a Grade III sprain and this a Grade I.

“It’s not as bad as the one I had last year and I don’t expect to be out as long as I was last year,” Harris said. “We’ll see how it feels and we’ll re-evaluate.”

“It feels bad,” Hayes said. “It feels bad now.”

The play that ended the nights of Harris and Hayes typified how hard the Nets battled and wanted this gettable game. They were down 12 in the third quarter and led by one in the fourth. But the Nets, like Harris and Hayes, couldn’t finish. They missed 9-of-11 shots to end the game and suffered a sixth-straight grueling loss.

This was the Nets’ 50th game and their 46th setback, matching at this point the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers, who hold the NBA mark for futility, finishing at 9-73.

“This was one we felt like we could have had,” Hayes said. “We couldn’t put it away.”

Harris finished with a game-high 21 points and Brook Lopez had 20.

Jonas Jerebko was 9-for-9 and scored 20 for the Pistons and Jason Maxiell was huge with nine of his 13 points in the fourth quarter.
The Nets led 86-85 after a Harris’ three-pointer with 7:01 left, but went 4:50 without a field goal. Courtney Lee ended the drought with a three that cut Detroit’s lead to 93-90 with 2:11 remaining.

Two Rodney Stuckey free throws 16 seconds later put the Nets in a five-point hole and things continued to get worse.

After their third straight miss, Lopez tapped out an offensive rebound with about 32 seconds left. Eventually, Kris Humphries got it and lost it and that’s when Harris and Hayes – coming from opposite directions – charged for the ball and ran into each other.

Hayes leaped in the air and thinks it was Harris’ shoulder that hit his leg.

“I thought he saw me out of the corner of his eye,” Harris said. “But once he didn’t I had to go low. I tried to duck out of the way as best I could.”

The incredible thing was that the play continued.

After Detroit got control of the ball, Tayshaun Prince leapt over a face-down Hayes and went in for a layup that made it 97-90 with 18.2 seconds left.

Hayes wasn’t aware that anyone hurdled him, but Harris was.

“I was just hoping someone would fall or I could help the play at some point,” Harris said.

“I was just helpless laying there as they went in and drove in for a layup. It’s an unfortunate situation at that point.
“We were right there. We fought back, got good looks at the basket. That play put it out of reach for us.”