After Latrell Sprewell scored the final seven points of a 17-2 run to give the Knicks a 97-95 lead with 29 seconds left, Atkins hit his fifth 3-pointer of the game.
"They came out in a press trying to get the ball out of my hands," Atkins said. "They kept it on until I got rid of it. We didn't get shots we really wanted during the last three minutes of the game. Everybody was composed and calm and we believed we could win."
 Chucky Atkins shoots the game-winning trey against the Knicks. |
"It's tough when you lose the lead because it can deflate you," Detroit coach Rick Carlisle said. "But we gathered together during the timeout and we set something up where Stack can make the play. Chucky ended up with the ball because of how the defense reacted. He just rose up and hit a huge shot. He has done it a few times this week and we are really proud of the way he's played."
Stackhouse finished with 25 points and nine assists. Clifford Robinson added 21 points and Atkins had 20 for Detroit, which won for the fourth time in five games despite blowing a 13-point fourth-quarter lead.
"I think we're getting a swagger about ourselves, especially winning big games on other teams' courts," Robinson said. "We are gaining confidence in every win we get."
New York was paced by Sprewell's 26 points and Allan Houston's 22. Marcus Camby had nine points and 14 rebounds in his third game back from a left foot injury that had sidelined him for the first 14 games.
The Knicks' Shandon Anderson and the Pistons' Corliss Williamson were ejected 16 seconds into the fourth quarter. Williamson, who apparently tripped over rookie teammate Zeljko Rebraca's foot, got up and pushed Anderson after the Knick had collided with him while going for a rebound. Anderson did not appear to shove Williamson back but both were ejected.
"That was not fair at all," Houston said. "All Shandon did was back out of the way."
"I haven't seen the tapes, so I don't know what happened," Carlisle said. "It certainly inspired some of our guys. Cliff Robinson really stepped up after that. Cliff went into the game after Corliss got ejected. Cliff immediately hit a big shot and that kind of got us going. It did wake our guys up."
The Pistons went on a 21-0 run to take an 81-75 lead, their first since 15-14. The Knicks did not score in the fourth quarter until Houston hit a pair of free throws with 7:47 remaining.
"It's always disappointing when you don't play defense," Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "We struggled guarding the post. We struggled with pick-and-roll coverage. We struggled really in every phase."
Detroit led by as much as 93-80 with 4:22 remaining before New York made its late run.
"This team is a good team and they are going to make runs," Sprewell said. "The thing that is most disappointing is that you fight all the way back and are not able to close it out at the end. Around here we are used to getting stops when we need them. We just didn't get that last one."