AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Stan Van Gundy has difficulty understanding why more people do not appreciate Aron Baynes.

Van Gundy, the Detroit Pistons' coach and president of basketball operations, signed Baynes as a free agent to back up his franchise player, All-Star center Andre Drummond. Baynes often gets criticized on social media but Van Gundy has only praise for the way Baynes has played.

No Pistons fan could complain about Baynes' performance on Saturday. In a game where most of the Pistons starters underperformed, Baynes and Detroit's backups shined.

Baynes powered for a career-high 21 points and fellow reserve Anthony Tolliver had 17 second-half points as the Pistons pulled away to a 115-103 victory over the Brooklyn Nets at The Palace.

"He's certainly one of the very best backup centers in the league," Van Gundy said. "You compare him to the other backup centers, he's been absolutely terrific. He plays with great passion and emotion."

Baynes and Tolliver sparked a second-half flurry by the Pistons (36-34), who opened the fourth quarter on a 21-6 run to take control. Baynes' previous career high was 18 points, which he reached on two occasions while playing for San Antonio. He scored all but four of his points on Saturday after halftime.

Tolliver tied his season high despite not playing in the first half.

"I'm a pro," the veteran power forward said. "I pride myself in preparing myself mentally and physically every single night. My number was called and I was able to perform."

Detroit had seven players in double figures while winning for the second straight night. Drummond contributed 16 points and nine rebounds and Reggie Jackson added 14 points. Rookie Stanley Johnson, another Detroit reserve, contributed 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

It was Johnson's best performance since he missed seven games with a right shoulder sprain. He had four of the team's five steals.

"For me, I've got to get back to what I used to do when I was playing well and that's defending," he said. "If I can get out and get some steals, some defensive rebounds and push the ball, that's where I start getting my flow."

Van Gundy played four reserves with shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope the entire fourth quarter, when the Pistons outscored the Nets 38-26. Detroit remained in a virtual tie for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with Chicago, which defeated Utah on Saturday.

"That group went in and changed the tone of the game. We started competing," Van Gundy said. "I don't think our starters played very hard defensively at all tonight. Those guys went in and changed the disposition of our game, changed our whole energy."

The Nets (19-50) played without leading scorer Brook Lopez, who was a late scratch because of a virus. Lopez had missed only one other game this season.

"He's a big threat for us and we go to him a lot," Nets interim coach Tony Brown said. "For him not to be in there is definitely a void. But I thought for the most part that we had some guys that were competing pretty well."

Thaddeus Young's 24 points and nine rebounds led Brooklyn, which has lost eight of its last 10. Bojan Bogdanovic supplied 19 points and Sean Kilpatrick added 15 off the bench for the Nets.

"Anthony Tolliver and Baynes, they were the X factors in the game," Young said. "They came in and made shots."

Johnson's steal and three-point play put the Pistons in front 80-77 just 30 seconds into the quarter. Tolliver soon stretched the lead to seven with a three. Baynes' three-point play and Tolliver's fourth 3-pointer of the half made it 93-81.

Detroit maintained a double-digit lead the remainder of the game.

NOTES: SG Jodie Meeks (shoulder) and PG Spencer Dinwiddie (ankle) were the Pistons' inactives. ... Nets SG Sean Kilpatrick signed a multi-year contract, reportedly for three years, on Saturday. Kilpatrick impressed the team during two 10-day contracts, averaging 14.1 points over the past seven games. "Obviously, the new deal for him is well-deserved," Brooklyn interim coach Tony Brown said. "He's played well since he's been here. Obviously, they're thinking down the road that he'd be a nice piece to have on the roster." ... The Pistons allowed five of their previous nine opponents to shoot over 50 percent from the field. "For us to make any kind of serious push for a playoff spot, we've got to defend a lot better than we have been," Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy said. "It's either we defend or we'll bow out of the race fairly quickly." ... The Pistons won two of the first three meetings and four of the last five at The Palace against the Nets.