Detroit Pistons vs. Brooklyn Nets - Jan. 10, 2015

Detroit Pistons big man Greg Monroe, who finished with 16 points and 17 rebounds, works against the Brooklyn Nets' Brook Lopez during Saturday's 98-93 win.

(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

AUBURN HILLS -- The fans are coming back and the Detroit Pistons have noticed.

The Pistons outlasted the Brooklyn Nets 98-93 Saturday in a stamina test between two extremely fatigued teams before 19,301, the second-largest crowd of the season at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Two of the three largest home crowds of the season were for the Pistons' Friday-Saturday split as they finished a five-game week with four wins to improve to 13-24 overall, 2 1/2 games out of eighth in the Eastern Conference.

The Pistons, who also drew 18,859 for Friday's loss to Atlanta, are 8-1 in their last nine games.

Their largest crowd of the season was for the home opener, 19,904 for a loss to the Nets.

"Even though these were weekend games, I think with us going on that winning streak, and us playing hard, I think it brings the fans," Brandon Jennings said after his third double-double of the season, 20 points and 11 assists. "It's a blue-collar state and they enjoy hard work."

Jennings had a couple of key late field goals and stabilized the Pistons, who led 84-82 when he was reinserted in the fourth quarter, and pushed the lead to 12 with help from two Kentavious Caldwell-Pope steals and a Jonas Jerebko 3-pointer that made it 96-84 with 1:10 left.

"It's a product that's easy to sell," Jerebko said after an 11-point, seven-rebound game. "I think it's pretty fun to watch us play right now."

The game devolved into a grueling test between two teams playing their fifth game of the week. The Pistons had won three of their first four, while the Nets dropped all four.

The fatigue was evident but Caldwell-Pope came up with the energy plays late. He got a defensive rebound and took it for a layup to make it 86-82 just four seconds later, got a steal and feed to Jennings for another layup to make it 88-82, then got another steal which did not result in a score but dened the Nets a possession with 2:27 left.

"It kind of turned it around for us," Caldwell-Pope said. "We wanted to get stops down the stretch and we did. Defense is crucial. We had to get stops and turn them into points. Once we did that, the game opened up for us."

Barely more than a minute later, Jerebko hit the 3-pointer that put it out of reach.

"It was close, then four or five minutes left, we made a little run, and we kept it," Jerebko said. "I think that shows strength."

Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy was pleased with the grit his team showed at the end of their most demanding week of the season, including games against defending NBA champion San Antonio and Western Conference contender Dallas on the road, and Eastern Conference leader Atlanta here in the week's only loss.

"I think you've got to keep battling defensively, keep yourself in the game, and you hope you hit a spurt where you just make a couple plays," Van Gundy said. "And that's really what it came down to, what team was going to get a little bit of a spurt, and we got it -- we got it off turnovers, and getting out in transition and stuff, enough to give us a little bit of a cushion. Jonas hit the three to put us up 12 and we were in pretty good shape."

The Pistons play four more games next week as part of a broader eight-in-12 exam, with a road game Monday at Toronto up next.

"I think the main thing now, winning, you kind of get up now for every game," Jennings said.

The Pistons improved to 5-14 at home and took an important step toward righting their biggest impediment to a postseason berth to date, their difficulties at home.

They haven't gotten a lot of boost from home crowds, with the average attendance of 14,280 through 19 home dates ranking 29th in the NBA after ranking 30th most of the season.

"It's always great that the seats are getting a little bit more full," Kyle Singler said, "but that's not why we play the game. We want to play to win."

Detroit Pistons vs. Brooklyn Nets - Jan. 10, 2015 30 Gallery: Detroit Pistons vs. Brooklyn Nets - Jan. 10, 2015

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