SALT LAKE CITY, March 19 (Ticker) -- The Detroit Pistons have not done this since the days of the "Bad Boys."

Chucky Atkins sparked second-half comeback as the surprising Pistons won in Utah for the first time in nearly 13 years with a 94-87 victory over the Jazz.

The Pistons had lost their last 11 visits to Utah since a 108-104 victory on March 29, 1989. In that season, the Pistons won the first of consecutive NBA titles and were the toughest team in the league, carrying the nickname "Bad Boys."

On Tuesday, these Pistons showed some toughness as they erased a 12-point deficit early in the third quarter en route to their first win in 10 tries at the Delta Center. The first two losses in the streak came at the old Salt Palace.

NBA TV highlights from Pistons-Jazz: 56k | 300k Clifford Robinson was one of three Pistons to record 20 points and was 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. Kent Horner NBAE/Getty Images

Atkins fueled the rally, scoring 12 of his 20 points in the third quarter, when Detroit outscored the Jazz, 30-17, to take a three-point lead entering the final period.

Clifford Robinson and Jerry Stackhouse each added 20 points for the Pistons, who moved three games ahead of second-place Milwaukee in the Central Division. Detroit (39-27) also pulled within 2 1/2 games of New Jersey for the Eastern Conference's top record while improving to 3-0 on a five-game road trip.

Karl Malone netted 22 points to lead Utah, which leads the Los Angeles Clippers by 1 1/2 games for the final Western Conference playoff spot. Malone played 41 minutes, moving past Elvin Hayes into second place on the all-time minutes played list with 50,033.