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The Nets’ season may be a disappointment, but that doesn’t mean it can’t show some pride down the stretch.
Finally, they are showing some at the end of the year, and displayed some at the end of Saturday, a 113-103 come-from-behind victory over the Pistons.
Trailing by 15 with just over seven minutes to play, the Nets went on a blistering 29-4 run to flip the script before a sellout crowd of 17,732 at Barclays Center.
The Nets have won five of their past seven to improve to 31-47.
They’ve been eliminated from postseason contention and will clearly fall short of their goals.
But with four more dates on the schedule, they can at least build some momentum going into the offseason — and hopefully next season.
Cam Thomas poured in a game-high 32 points, six rebounds and five assists.
“Just playing for the culture honestly, just trying to win games,” Thomas said in an on-court TV interview afterward.
Dennis Schroder added 24 points and six assists, and 19-year-old rookie Noah Clowney had a second consecutive strong performance with 17 points and six boards off the bench.
Interim coach Kevin Ollie has stressed there is plenty to play for.
“We’re trying to build championship character, and we’re trying to build competitive character,” Ollie said. “That’s just taking care of one another and just competing no matter what the outcome is. I don’t worry about the outcome. I worry about figuring it out. That’s what a competitor does.
“No matter if you are in it or you are out of it, it doesn’t matter because you get another opportunity to put on a Brooklyn jersey. That’s all that matters. That’s how we have to play.”
The Pistons (13-65) are the worst squad in the NBA.
They’ve dropped 12 of their past 13, including getting blown out the night before in Memphis.
But the Nets looked like the tired team early on.
They fell behind, 44-25, with 7:56 left in the first half on a short hook shot by Chimezie Metu.
After Marcus Sasser rose up and drilled a 3-pointer over two Nets, Thomas got bodied by Jaden Ivey, knocked down en route to the Detroit standout’s short jumper.
The Nets trailed by 17 before mounting a rally.
A Jaylen Nowell 3-pointer left the Nets in a 99-84 hole with 7:49 left. But they stormed back with that 29-4 blitz.
Clowney’s right corner 3-pointer pulled the Nets within 103-99.
Then, after he blocked Troy Brown Jr., Nic Claxton drew an offensive foul on James Wiseman to give the Nets the ball.
A Schroder go-ahead 3-pointer put the Nets up 104-103 with 2:54 remaining, and after they forced a shot-clock violation with a defensive stand, Schroder made a pair at the line.
Schroder’s 12-foot jumper padded it to 108-103.
The Pistons seemingly broke the blitz until Claxton got whistled for goaltending on a Brown hook shot with 1:03 in regulation.
But after a review, the call got reversed, and the Nets got credited with their seventh block of the second half.
Jalen Wilson added a 3-pointer for icing on the cake.