by Jordan Garretson, February 02, 2012

Deron Williams entered the pre-game huddle on Wendesday night with some confusion. The huddle included only eight Nets players, including Deron himself. 

"I was like, 'Where's everybody else?' " D-Will said. "They were like, 'This is it.'"

If New Jersey thought it had already battled a lot of adversity this season, they hadn't seen anything until Wednesday, when injuries forced coach Avery Johnson to dress only eight players.

No matter, with D-Will leading the way, eight was enough for the Nets. No. 8 played a season-high 43 minutes and scored a game-high 26 points — his fifth-straight 20-point game — helping New Jersey to a 99-96 victory over Detroit. 

"It was a good win for us, the way we battled after that tough one yesterday," Deron said after the game. "We knew it was going to be a tough game for us just due to a lack of bodies. We played last night and a lot of us played big minutes. But we just knew that they played three games in three nights, so they should be a little fatigued as well. We tried to use that to our advantage."

The roster limitations meant hurdles for Nets even before the game started. Williams said the lack of bodies even made the pre-game layup line a little challenging. But instead of wilting in the face of adversity, D-Will and company embraced the moniker bestowed upon them by their coach.

"I told them they were "The Great Eight" tonight and that's the only way you can look at it. I told them that before the game and I told them the same after," Johnson said. "We normally give a set of nets to the guy that is ‘the most valuable player' of the game. But we cut it up into eight pieces tonight because each one of them deserved it. Everybody contributed tonight."

Deron talked with YES Network after the final buzzer, watch below:

New Jersey weathered the adversity in a turnover-laden first quarter for both sides. They finished the first tied at 23, but a Shawne Williams 3-point barrage — with D-Will helping to load the ammunition — let the Nets build a nine-point lead in the second.

Shawne hit three trifectas during a 3:37 span in the quarter and Deron assisted on each basket, three of his nine assists on the night. The Nets led 49-38 at halftime.

"He's one of those point guards you have to keep your eye on because he's a pass-first point guard. He hates to shoot a lot," said Shawne Williams, who finished with 11 points. "He told me to keep shooting and he was going to get me going. He was finding me and I started making shots. At that point in the game we were in a good flow, we were running our tempo in our offense.

"Coach had us in the right sets. He made a sub and put me at the three, so we went kind of big and D-Will was doing a great job. He was going iso [on his defender] and he did a great job of finding me a couple of times."

Despite a total lack of depth, New Jersey increased its lead to 12 points on a D-Will jump shot with 5:19 left in the third quarter and appeared primed to run away with the victory. But Detroit closed the third on a 20-9 run and briefly took the lead. The Nets nursed a one-point edge into the fourth.

But No. 8 was simply too much for the Pistons. He scored 18 of his 26 points in the second half —including 10 in the fourth quarter alone — while playing the entire 24 minutes without a break. The 43 minutes were a season-high for D-Will, made possible, he believes, by his time spent playing in Turkey during the lockout.

"It makes a difference. I was playing games. A lot of guys worked out and worked out hard. But there's no way to simulate an actual game," he said. "I've been playing now for five months so I definitely feel like I'm in great shape right now.

"It's allowing me to play these heavy minutes I'm having to play right now because so many guys are out."

While his offense sparked them all night, Deron was too much for the Pistons on the floor's other end, too. Detroit found a chance to tie the game on its final possession, but No. 8 forced Brandon Knight into a difficult 3-point shot with 1.8 seconds left. It was unsuccessful, securing the Nets' win and improving D-Will's personal record to 11-0 all-time against the Pistons. 

"Great leadership by Deron down the stretch," Johnson said. "He's realized that this is our team. We have to just go out and play. If he has to play with [Sundiata] Gaines and Jordan [Farmar] starting at the 2 and 3 spots, it is what it is. He's really got great positive spirit right now. His energy is good. His leadership is good. Right now he's just concentrating on the guys who are his teammates, that he's spent a lot of time with on the road with dinners and lunches. They're really just building the bond. I really like the bond that they're building."

Deron said that the bond on and off the court has changed his perspective and thus affected his leadership.

"We're just trying to get as many wins as possible," he said. "Early on in the season, I was letting it effect me too much, getting too down [after losses]. I'm just trying to be positive. It's a tough situation we're in with all these guys going down, being hurt. I have to take it upon myself as the leader of this team to step up and make plays on both ends of the court."

D-Will is now averaging 29 points and 8.6 assists over his last five games and has moved up to 13th in the league in scoring and 5th in assists per game. As a direct result, New Jersey has won four of its last seven games. 

"We're just playing a lot better together," he said. "Early on there was no continuity, no consistency from anywhere. We weren't playing good basketball. Now we're starting to get comfortable with each other and making basketball plays. Things are coming a lot easier."

BOGANS' BIG BUCKET

Less than 24 hours after being signed by the team, newcomer Keith Bogans was on the floor in crunch time for New Jersey Wednesday night and teamed with Deron to make one of the game's most important plays.

The Nets were clinging to a slim advantage in the fourth and held possession with a four-point lead and less than two minutes to go. D-Will controlled the ball, but the Pistons sent a double team his way, forcing him to assess his options. Bogans caught the Detroit defense off-balance with a cut to the basket and Deron hit him with a pass, which Bogans finished for a lay-up, giving the Nets a 98-92 lead with 1:16 left.

It was Bogans' only basket during his Nets debut, but it was magnified because of the stage of the game it came in. Coach Avery Johnson said he and Deron laughed about the play after the game, because the newcomer made a cut the likes of which NJ hasn't made all season.

"That was very big," D-Will said. "They were doubling me at the end of the game and he made a great basketball play, saw the back of a defender's head and cut to the basket. He made a great play. I knew we were going to need [Keith] tonight, especially once AmMo (Anthony Morrow) went down.  We knew he was going to have to play some minutes for us tonight. But he came in in great shape. He's ready to go. He's been working out so I wasn't surprised at all."

NEXT UP

Deron and the Nets continue their homestand at the Prudential Center on Friday as they host the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The contest will mark New Jersey's first against Minnesota this season. D-Will averaged 21.5 points in two games against the Wolves last year.  Friday's game can be seen at 7:30 EST on YES.

RELATED STORIES

• Williams scores 26 as Nets top Pistons 99-96 (Associated Press, Feb. 1, 2012)
• Nets defeat Pistons despite short bench (NY Post, Feb. 2, 2012)
• Nets outlast Detroit Pistons, 99-96, beating former coach Lawrence Frank (Star-Ledger, Feb. 2, 2012)
• NJ Nets rebound after Tuesday's loss to edge Detroit Pistons (New York Daily News, Feb. 2, 2012)
• Undermanned Nets grind down Pistons in 99-96 win (The Record, Feb. 2, 2012)