New Jersey (32-47) lost for the eighth time in 10 games as coach Lawrence Frank went with a young lineup for much of the game.
Rookie Ryan Anderson led the Nets with 20 points, one short of his career high, and fellow first-year players Chris Douglas-Roberts and Brook Lopez had 16 each.
The Pistons never trailed, and were up by as many as 19 in the first half. Detroit outshot the Nets 61 to 36 percent and outrebounded them 24-13 to take a 54-38 lead into intermission.
Anderson's 3-pointer pulled the Nets to 76-68 in the final minute of the third period, but Tayshaun Prince's dunk moved the margin back to 10 at quarter's end.
New Jersey got to 96-91 in the final minute, but Richard Hamilton clinched the game with a 3-pointer.
Nets All-Star point guard Devin Harris left the game in the third quarter with a sore left shoulder and did not return. He missed all five shot attempts and finished with one point, his lowest output since scoring a single point for the Mavericks against Atlanta on Feb. 26. 2007.
Notes: For much of the fourth quarter, with the game still in the balance, six of the 10 players on the floor were either in their first or second NBA seasons. ... Kwame Brown was called for a technical foul with 2:50 left, but Douglas-Roberts missed the free throw.
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