EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—Tuesday at the IZOD Center, the Nets led the Pistons by four with two minutes to play before allowing a 10-2 run that sealed their third straight defeat. Devin Harris returned from a four-game layoff to total 24 points and 14 assists, while Brook Lopez added 27 points and 7 rebounds. Jarvis Hayes scored 11 on 5-of-10 shooting in his first start of the season.

For the full recap, read Bob Considine’s story on NBA.com: Click Here

Harris '09 Still Sparkles
This was the Devin Harris everyone remembered. Not from the Golden State game 11 days ago, but from the All-Star campaign last season, before the groin and wrist injuries that have marred his sixth trip through the NBA.

In his first game since re-aggravating his strained right wrist on January 22nd, the Nets’ point guard posted 24 points, five rebounds and 14 assists against only three turnovers, shooting 7-of-14 as the Nets lost to the Pistons, 97-93, on Tuesday at the IZOD Center. He pushed the ball in transition from the jump, dishing out six first-quarter assists, and began to dominate in the fourth, racking up 10 points and four assists as the Nets flipped a six-point deficit into a four-point lead with 2 minutes, 22 seconds remaining.

But Harris and the Nets could muster little more; the offense stagnated as the Pistons took a four-point lead of their own by scoring on four straight possessions. The Nets were blanked, missing two shots, until a beautifully executed inbounds play resulted in a Harris-to-Lopez alley-oop with 19 seconds left. Harris inbounded to Yi Jianlian, who flipped it back to Harris, who two-handed a high, hard one to Lopez on the far side of the hoop. That closed the gap to two, and the Nets were given new life when Richard Hamilton – a career .852 shooter from the foul line – missed the second of a pair.

The ball caromed to Kris Humphries, and the Nets chose to forgo the timeout in favor of what Coach and GM Kiki Vandeweghe called a “quick-hitter” designed to allow Devin the chance to break down the Pistons’ transition defense. Looking to find Jarvis Hayes or his own shot, Harris couldn’t find an opening, opting to shoot a deep pullup three over Tayshaun Prince that fell well short of the rim.

“I thought my wrist was stronger than what it was,” Harris said. “I shot two air balls today. There was some confusion whether we were going to call timeout or run the play we designed. We didn’t expect (Hamilton) to miss the free throw. The first good look we had, we wanted to take it. About three-feet short, but it was a good look.

“We have kind of been struggling with the execution on last-second plays. It’s always you want to go back and change things or do things differently. But at that time of the game I took the first shot I saw.”

Harris and the Nets were outscored 10-2 during that final stretch, after allowing only 16 points on 7-of-18 shooting during the previous 9 ½ minutes. Several times in the fourth, Nets defenders stuck to their men only to have a contested shot find the bottom of the net.

And even when they made defensive plays, as Courtney Lee did by blocking Hamilton’s jumper with 6 minutes left, the ball rolled the Pistons’ way – Hamilton tracked it down and swished a second attempt, left open by the momentary scramble.

But the Nets wouldn’t have been so close without a vintage ’09 performance by Harris, who played 39 minutes due to his own success and the lack of Keyon Dooling (sore hip) as a backup. His play most affected Brook Lopez, who ran the pick-and-roll to perfection all night, with Harris assisting six of his 11 baskets. The second-year center scored 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting, pulling down seven rebounds and blocking two shots.

“When he sets the picks and rolls the way he does, he makes it easier for all of us, whether it be me finding him on the roll or opening up shots for Courtney and Jarvis in the corners,” Harris said. “When he rolls, either he’s scoring in the paint, I’m scoring in the paint, or we’re getting open jump shots for our shooters.”

Starter Swap at SF

Tuesday’s game featured a surprise starter: Jarvis Hayes earned his first nod of the season, announced at small forward in place of Chris Douglas-Roberts, who first broke the news Monday afternoon via Twitter. Kiki Vandeweghe said he made the swap in order to better involve Douglas-Roberts with the offense after the swingman’s scoring average dropped to 7.7 PPG in 14 January games.

Douglas-Roberts entered the month second on the team with a 16.3 PPG average, but reached double-digit points only five times in the month, largely because he took 10 or more shots only three times. Saying he saw this coming as his playing time and effectiveness began to dwindle, Douglas-Roberts expressed an open attitude.

“Whatever it is to help this team,” Douglas-Roberts said. “We’re struggling, so you have to shake things up a little bit, and I was the first one. We’ll see. If it helps this team win, then it really doesn’t matter to me.”

Douglas-Roberts went scoreless in 10 minutes, the first time this season he’d been held without a point, though he notably stripped Rip Hamilton while the guard attempted a jumper late in the first, giving the Nets the quarter's final shot. Hayes played 33 minutes, scoring 11 points (5-10 FGs) and grabbing three rebounds while playing solid defense throughout. But he was noticeably the victim of a well-designed late-game inbounds play that resulted in an alley-oop to Tayshaun Prince, breaking a tie and left the Pistons up two with 45 seconds to play.

“I thought they were going to lob it in to Tay and let Rip come in and get the handoff,” Hayes admitted. “I definitely didn’t see the backscreen coming.”

Tough end to another one for Hayes and the Nets.

Harris Resigns as Lead Assistant
After joining the coaching staff alongside Kiki Vandeweghe two months ago, Del Harris released a statement after the game announcing his decision to return to his home in Dallas. The 72-year-old coach said he had come on board to aid Vandeweghe as the Nets GM transitioned into his first coaching job. He said that he believes there is strong evidence that the team has improved and will be more competitive going forward.

"My sincere thanks to Rod Thorn, Kiki, the Nets players and organization for the opportunity to experience the Nets and the good people of the New Jersey area," Harris said. "As difficult as this year has been for the Nets and their fans, I look forward to seeing the Nets capitalize on the moves they have made that have put them in a position to develop into an elite team over the next couple of years and on into the future."

Keyon Kept Out

After averaging 36.3 minutes in the previous three games, Keyon Dooling sat out Tuesday with a sore hip, chalking it up to overuse. He said pregame that playing tomorrow in Toronto was a possibility.

“If I'm feeling better I’ll be able to,” Dooling said. “It’s a day-to-day thing, literally: some days I feel great, some days I don't.”

Couple Quick Ones
Courtney Lee, who seems to be finally finding his stroke, shot 3-of-4 from three-point range, finishing with 15 points and 5 rebounds...Kris Humphries nearly logged a double-double in 23 1/2 minutes, tallying 9 points and 12 rebounds...

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