Pistons hold off late Knicks rally for third straight win

By Dana Gauruder, for NBA.com
Posted Sunday January 17, 2010 12:08AM

AUBURN HILLS (NBA.com exclusive) -- The fourth quarter seemed like it would never end for the Detroit Pistons Saturday night. They played with intelligence and inspiration most of the game, then gave the New York Knicks a confidence boost for their rematch Monday afternoon.

Chucky Atkins' clinching free throws with 9.4 seconds remaining secured a 94-90 Pistons victory, their third straight after 13 consecutive losses. The Pistons built a 21-point lead in the third quarter by taking advantage of New York's unorthodox defensive strategy but had the Palace crowd of 19,185 holding their collective breaths in the closing minutes.

"We played well for three quarters, trying to share the ball and defending extremely well," Pistons head coach John Kuester said.

"They're a very difficult team to defend. In the fourth quarter, I thought we looked at the scoreboard and kept thinking the time was going to fly off. Unfortunately in the NBA, it doesn't."

A gritty effort from Rodney Stuckey and the inside scoring of power forwards Chris Wilcox and Charlie Villanueva enabled the Pistons to build the big lead. Stuckey was hospitalized briefly after the Pistons' overtime victory against New Orleans Friday night for dehydration, but he had enough energy by game time to score a team-high 20 points and collect three of the team's eight steals.

Stuckey scored 15 in the first half while being guarded mainly by 6-foot-11 Jared Jeffries, as Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni unsuccessfully tried to cut off Stuckey's penetration with Jeffries' length.

"Stuckey is a young guy and we expect a lot out of him," Atkins said.

"He showed his guts tonight. He left it out on the court for 42 minutes and 20 points after being in the hospital until 3 o'clock in the morning. But he's our star point guard and we expect that out of him."

Wilcox's season-high 14 points and 10 rebounds was an unexpected treat for the Pistons. Wilcox, who has started at power forward the past four games, often found himself being defended by shooting guard Wilson Chandler. Villanueva also took advantage by posting up a smaller defender, contributing 19 points and 10 rebounds.

That duo scored a combined seven points when the Knicks overwhelmed the Pistons 104-87 at The Palace Dec. 29.

"We've got to go in the post (in that situation) and that's what happened," Wilcox said. "I know in the first game, when they started switching, we didn't throw it in the post. Tonight, we were aggressive and executed."

Those post touches came within the flow of the offense, rather than force-feeding the big men.

"You try to put your guys in position but you can also over-coach," Kuester said. "That's why you've got to be careful about making sure you've got solid movement. Anytime you face a team like this, you've got to work on your drive and kick and you've got to be efficient in regards to taking the ball to the basket. When you saw our effectiveness throughout the first three quarters, it was basically taking the ball to the basket."

The only effective Knicks player in the early going was David Lee, who looked like he would exceed his season-high 30-point outing from the first meeting after scoring 16 first-quarter points. But Jason Maxiell and Ben Wallace limited Lee to one errant jumper in the second quarter when the Pistons outscored the Knicks, 28-13.

With no one else in an offensive rhythm, the Knicks went 0-for-7 and committed five turnovers during a 16-2 Pistons run that allowed the home team to take control.

"Lack of energy, lack of focus and lack of urgency," D'Antoni said. "I don't think the main guys that were playing came out with any kind of desire to win. It's too bad. We picked it up at the start of the fourth quarter."

Drawing from the energy of reserves Nate Robinson and rookie Jordan Hill, the Knicks went on a 24-10 run to nearly erase Detroit's lead.

Robinson (11 points, five assists) hit three late 3-pointers and Hill scored all six of his points in the fourth.

Danilo Gallinari led New York with 27 points and Lee wound up with 26, along with 17 rebounds. The Knicks will try to carry that momentum to Madison Square Garden Monday.

"We at least saw some of the things they're going to do at the end of the game," Kuester said. "They're a team that plays so much better at home. They had a tough game there the other night (a 112-104 loss to Toronto) but Toronto has more scorers than most teams in the league.

"We're going to have to come out focused and understand that we can't take anything lightly."

• Knicks: Curry, Milicic, Mobley
• Pistons: Bynum, Prince

• Knicks: Harrington
• Pistons: --

• Lead Changes: 8
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit, MI
• Officials: #26 Bob Delaney, #53 Mark Lindsay, #71 Rodney Mott
• Attendance: 19185
• Duration: 2:26