DETROIT – James Harden scored 44 points and Blake Griffin added 17 in his return to Detroit, lifting the Brooklyn Nets to a 113-111 victory over the Pistons on Friday night.
Harden was back after missing his team's previous game because of neck soreness, and he added 14 rebounds and eight assists in addition to his big scoring night.
Brooklyn was still without Kevin Durant (left hamstring strain) and Kyrie Irving (personal reasons), but the Nets had enough to hold off the last-place Pistons.
Jerami Grant scored 19 points for Detroit. Griffin spent three-plus years with the Pistons, but he reached a buyout agreement with Detroit earlier this month and went to the contending Nets.