Kings-Pistons Preview

By PAUL DIGIACOMO
Posted Feb 16 2012 8:41PM

After a horrendous start, the Detroit Pistons are playing their best basketball of the season.

The Sacramento Kings also looked like they were starting to turn things around, but the beginning of a tough road stretch has returned them to their losing ways.

Coming off an impressive win away from home, Detroit looks to continue its recent success Friday night when it meets a Sacramento team playing its third road game in four nights.

The Pistons began their first season 4-20 under coach Lawrence Frank. Detroit, though, matched its win total over that span with four consecutive victories Feb. 3-10.

A two-game skid followed that run, but the Pistons bounced back with a 98-88 win in Boston on Wednesday night as Frank tinkered with his lineup.

Rodney Stuckey scored 25 points and Ben Gordon hit three 3-pointers in the opening 4:09 of the fourth quarter for Detroit, which played with three guards for stretches in the game.

"It gives us a little different look, especially when (Ben's) running the team," Frank said. "If something works, I'll stay with it. Heck, I'll play five bigs if I have to. We're not 28-2. I'll continue to experiment."

Greg Monroe had 22 points and nine rebounds, and Gordon also scored 22 in his fifth game back after missing 10 due to a sore left shoulder. Gordon has come off the bench since returning after starting all 15 contests he appeared in prior to getting hurt.

"I think (the smaller lineup) gives us an advantage," said Gordon, who was 4 of 6 on 3s in the final quarter. "It gets us to the long rebounds to get on the break."

Detroit (9-22) seems to have a solid chance of picking up another win Friday, as Sacramento (10-19) enters on a three-game losing streak. The Kings had won four of five prior to that slide.

Sacramento has also struggled in the series, dropping nine of the past 13 meetings. The Kings lost 110-106 in their last visit to The Palace of Auburn Hills on Jan. 15, 2011, as the Pistons had six players score in double figures.

Seven Knicks reached that mark Wednesday night in the Kings' 100-85 loss in New York. They've allowed their last three opponents to shoot 50.0 percent or better, and Chicago made 52.4 percent of its attempts Tuesday night as Sacramento opened its season-high six-game trip with a 121-115 loss.

"They made shots," point guard Tyreke Evans said after leading the Kings with 19 points at Madison Square Garden. "It seemed like they were making everything tonight."

Evans is off to a good start to the trip, having scored 27 against the Bulls. He had 25 points and 11 assists in last season's visit to The Palace.

The Kings, who will play their six road games over a nine-day span leading into the All-Star break, have the most road losses in the Western Conference with 14.

Sacramento has dropped five of its last seven at Auburn Hills.

Stuckey gets 36, leads Pistons past Kings 114-108

Posted Feb 18 2012 1:11AM

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) Lawrence Frank loves defense. His Detroit Pistons managed to play just enough of it Friday night.

After allowing 88 points through the first three quarters, the Pistons outscored the Sacramento Kings in the fourth to win 114-108.

"That was fun," Frank said after the Pistons scored 28 points compared to the Kings' 20 in the final quarter. "It wasn't exactly the kind of the grind-it-out defensive epic you used to see here in the 80s, but our guys made just enough stops at the end to win it."

Rodney Stuckey scored a season-high 36 points and rookie Brandon Knight added 23 points and 10 assists.

"I love playing with Brandon, and he is improving every day," said Stuckey, who missed a career high by four points. "We're going to have a lot of years together, and it is only going to get better."

Detroit has won six of its last eight games after a 4-20 start.

"There's been a lot of improvement since Christmas," Knight said. "Our offense has been pretty good all along, but we're playing a lot better on the defensive end."

Tayshaun Prince finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Stuckey was 12 for 20 from the floor and 11 for 12 from the free-throw line.

"We were getting easy buckets just by pushing the ball," Stuckey said. "We were getting out on the break, Brandon was pushing the ball, and I was getting rim attacks. That's my game."

DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings with 26 points and 15 rebounds, while Marcus Thornton added 24.

"We did everything well until late in the game," Kings coach Keith Smart said. "We made some critical mistakes - just plays that we're not thinking the game all the way through. This was a tough loss, because we played so great and then gave it right back."

The Kings threatened to pull away several times in the first three quarters, but couldn't stop Stuckey. His pair of free throws at the end of the third gave him 31 points and pulled Detroit within 88-86.

Knight's layup put the Pistons ahead with 10:15 to play. After the teams traded the advantage several times, the rookie had a three-point play to make it 102-100 Detroit with four minutes left.

The Kings scored the next four points, but Knight came through again, hitting a 3-pointer to put the Pistons up 105-104 with 2:17 left.

Stuckey followed with a triple of his own on Detroit's next possession to make it a four-point game.

"That was just great teamwork all around," Knight said. "Tayshaun found me for a 3, and then Body (Ben Wallace) laid two perfect screens to open up the next two baskets. Everyone was doing their thing."

Cousins and Knight traded baskets, and the Pistons clinched the game from the free-throw line.

"That was tough, man," Tyreke Evans said. "We have to learn to clean our game and close teams out. That's what good teams do."

Notes: Isaiah Thomas made the first start of his career in the building where his namesake won NBA titles with the Pistons in 1989 and 1990. Thomas finished with 13 points and four assists. Isiah Thomas had 31 points in his first start, back in 1981. ... Cousins decisively won the battle of the second-year post players, as Detroit's Greg Monroe finished with three points and eight rebounds. Cousins was picked fifth and Monroe seventh in the 2010 draft.

Notebook: Pistons 114, Kings 108

Posted Friday February 17, 2012 11:22PM

By Dana Gauruder, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Guard Rodney Stuckey had a season-high 36 points as the Detroit Pistons defeated the Sacramento Kings, 114-108, Friday night for their second straight victory. Rookie point guard Brandon Knight supplied his second double-double with 23 points and a career-high 10 assists as Detroit reached its season high in points. Center DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings with 26 points and 15 rebounds.

QUOTABLE: "Tonight was Stuck's night. He can get to the basket at will and draw fouls. He carried us and did a great job of just keeping us moving offensively. Not only that but the blocked shots and hustle plays he had really changed the game for us."
-- Knight on Stuckey's performance.

THE STAT: 59. The Pistons beat the Kings at their own game, outscoring them on fast-break points, 30-29. Detroit hadn't given up more than 25 fast-break points this season (Chicago, Jan. 4) and hadn't scored more than 17 (vs. Dallas, Jan. 10) prior to Friday's shootout. The Pistons had a 17-6 advantage in fast-break points in the second half while outscoring the Kings, 58-48.

TURNING POINT: The Pistons trailed 104-102 before hitting two of their six 3-pointers. Knight made the first of those off a Tayshaun Prince kickout. Knight then found Stuckey open in the right corner after Sacramento's Tyreke Evans missed a 3-pointer. After Cousins scored, Knight drove across the lane for a layup with 1:11 remaining to preserve a four-point advantage.

QUOTABLE II: "He's a phenomenal player. I love playing with him. We're going to have a lot of years together and we're only going to get better."
-- Stuckey on Knight.

HOT: Stuckey is averaging 28 points over the last three games. His 36-point outburst Friday was four shy of his career high and his biggest output since he scored 38 against the Kings on Jan. 2, 2009. The last time he reached the 30-point mark was a 31-point performance against Oklahoma City on Dec. 18, 2009.

NOT: In the battle of highly-touted second-year centers, the Pistons' Greg Monroe was clearly the loser. He had a season-low three points on 1-of-7 shooting against Cousins, who shot 11-of-19 from the field and outrebounded Monroe 15-8.

GOOD MOVE: Isaiah Thomas made his first start at The Palace since April 1994. Well, not quite. Thomas, the Kings' rookie guard out of Washington, made his first career start in the same building where Isiah Thomas spent a good portion of his Hall of Fame career. The Kings' Thomas had 13 points and four assists and helped Sacramento score 31 first-quarter points.

BAD MOVE: Kings coach Keith Smart only played Thomas three seconds during the fourth quarter and stuck too long with reserves Travis Outlaw, Jimmer Fredette and Chuck Hayes down the stretch as the Pistons outscored Sacramento 28-20 in the fourth.

NOTABLE: Prince had his first double-double this season with 22 points and a season-high 10 rebounds. ... Guard Marcus Thornton added 24 for Sacramento but went scoreless in the fourth. ... Detroit's previous high point total was 109 against New Jersey Feb. 10. It was just the second time the Pistons have reached 100 points in regulation.

UP NEXT: For the Kings, Sunday @ Cleveland, Tuesday @ Miami, Wednesday @ Washington. For the Pistons, Sunday vs. Boston, Tuesday @ Cleveland, Wednesday @ Toronto.

• Kings: Honeycutt
• Pistons: Villanueva

• Kings: --
• Pistons: --

• Lead Changes: 10
• Times Tied: 10

• Arena: Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit, MI
• Officials: #13 Monty McCutchen, #63 Derek Richardson, #30 John Goble
• Attendance: 14686
• Duration: 2:13