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Knicks-Pistons: 300k 
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Brown was not with the team as he attempted to recover from flu-like symptoms. The squad was guided by assistant Gar Heard, who coached the Pistons to a 2-4 record when Brown was recovering from hip surgery in November.
"It's just about going out there and being professionals," said Pistons All-Star center Ben Wallace, who collected 14 rebounds and four blocks. "We recognize the things that we did early in the season that caused us to struggle a little bit."
Prince scored 10 points and Chauncey Billups added eight of his 15 in the opening quarter for Detroit, which opened a 31-23 lead after the period and never trailed.
"We felt that we could go right at Tim (Thomas) with Tayshaun," Heard said. "Tayshaun has really been playing well lately. We wanted to make sure we got him the ball early so that he could get off to a good start. Usually when he gets off to a good start, we get off to a good start."
"We made a couple plays early that got some life into the building and got some life into us," Billups said. "Tonight was just OK - good enough to win, but we didn't play great."
Thomas concurred with what Heard and Billups said.
"They moved the ball well, they played together," Thomas said. "It seemed like they had our number from the start. It was a very frustrating night for us. We have to start the game off in the right way. Tonight they were taking control of every (loose) ball, and that's just a matter of wanting it more. I'm not saying we didn't want it. They just wanted it more."
Jamal Crawford got the Knicks to within 57-47 at the 9:24 mark of the third quarter with a 3-pointer, but the Pistons countered with a 7-0 burst over the next 2 1/2 minutes and maintained a double-digit lead until the final minutes in its season-high seventh consecutive home win.
"I think as long as we stay aggressive, we'll be all right," Knicks interim coach Herb Williams said. "We were sloppy at times on offense, especially when we started pushing the ball. We tried to go at them and attack them, but it just didn't pan out for us. They're not the world champs for no reason."
"I just wanted to go out there and give our team a spark and play the way Coach wants us to play," Hamilton said. "We wanted to keep playing the way we were playing before the break - keep defending and get the easy baskets."
Crawford scored 23 points but made just 9-of-21 shots for New York, which connected on only 38 percent (35-of-93). Kurt Thomas collected 15 points and 17 rebounds for the Knicks, who had won two of their previous three games.
The Pistons last swept the Knicks during the 1989-90 season, the second of back-to-back championship campaigns.
Detroit has won 10 of its last 11 games, but the Pistons don't feel like they're getting the respect around the league that they deserve. They're not complaining, however.
"I love being under the radar," Billups said. "It's just like last year. Nobody's talking about us, but nobody's playing better than us."
Detroit forward Rasheed Wallace, who contributed 12 points, eight rebounds and four blocks, said that the Pistons are overlooked because they aren't built around one player.
"We ain't got no stars," he said. "We're all about the team concept. That's not the NBA's thing. They want stars. They want the individual game, not a team game.
"At the start we were sluggish. We were feeling our way around. We were still tired. Now it's later in the fight and the cream is rising to the top. We're getting lighter on our feet. We have to get it together, because sooner than you know the playoffs will be here."