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Pistons squander 18-point lead, lose to NBA-worst Knicks in 2OT

If the Pistons miss the playoffs by a game, circle this game. Circle Feb. 27, a night the Pistons squandered an 18-point lead in losing to the NBA's worst team while the Indiana Pacers – who started the night with the same 23-34 record as the Pistons – were beating the league's hottest team, Cleveland.

It's not the first time the Pistons have lost at home to a lesser team, of course. But almost all of them came during their wobbly 5-23 start, which seems like a lifetime ago and before Stan Van Gundy overhauled the roster to make the Pistons a cohesive, dangerous offensive team.

And that's what they looked like in Friday's first half. The Pistons had the New York Knicks on the ropes late in the second quarter, up 18, but cracked the door ever so slightly when New York finished the half on a 8-2 run to trail by 12. The third quarter was just plain ugly. The Pistons made only two baskets in 16 attempts, and the Knicks had life.

"We have to do a better job of coming out against teams, no matter who we're playing, and playing with the same focus, the same energy, the same intent, no matter what game it is," Greg Monroe said in a somber Pistons locker room as players dressed quietly and quickly, needing to get to the airport for a late flight to Washington where their legs will feel the effects of the 121-115 double-overtime loss in which nmonroe was one of four starters to log 40-plus minutes. "We can't pick and choose games and we can't assume we're going to automatically win. We have to play the same way every night."

It was the first win all season for the Knicks without Carmelo Anthony in the lineup in 17 tries. They won it with a collection of journeymen and unknowns. The game was sent to overtime on a 3-pointer by Langston Galloway, an undrafted free agent, and nobody had his fingerprints on the game more than Lou Amundson, signed off the street by the Knicks to a 10-day contract.

"They played a lot harder than we did," Stan Van Gundy said. "They came to help on every drive – we didn't. They did all the things you need to do to win a game and we weren't willing to do them, so we lost."

Amundson finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds, including nine on the offensive end, while battling nose to nose with Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond. They put up their numbers – Monroe 28 points and 13 rebounds, Drummond 21 and 15 – but Andrea Bargnani countered with 25 and 12 for the Knicks and Amundson kept giving the Knicks second chances in the second half, when he had six of his offensive boards.

"Bargnani had a great night, but he's a really talented guy, but I thought the real difference was Amundson and Shane Larkin," Van Gundy said. "I thought Shake Larkin did an outstanding defensive job, thought he made good decisions. I thought his energy was great. Those two guys were big keys. We gave Amundson nine offensive rebounds and some real key ones down the stretch. If you're not going to defend and rebound – a lot of 'em we weren't even trying to rebound – that's what happens."

Larkin's contributions – 16 points, three assists and no turnovers in 35 minutes off the bench – probably stood out more because Van Gundy's point guards, Reggie Jackson in particular, struggled so badly. Jackson finished 5 of 24, with seven of his shots blocked, and had four turnovers. He didn't get a few calls and got increasingly and visibly frustrated, then started attacking the basket recklessly and forcing ill-advised shots.

"He makes the decisions he makes," Van Gundy said. "Tonight, not a good night. The last two nights, very good nights."

The Pistons got a combined 6 of 37 from two positions – point guard with Jackson and John Lucas III (1 of 5) and small forward, where Tayshaun Prince and Caron Butler didn't make a field goal in eight tries. Van Gundy played the last seven minutes of regulation and both overtimes with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (19 points, 3 of 11 from the 3-point arc) at small forward while Jodie Meeks (16 points) played shooting guard.

"They played well," Meeks said. "We played well to start offensively, but they hung in there and played well. We've got to do a better job of maintaining their runs and hanging in there mentally."

For all their travails and despite the 2 of 16 third quarter, the Pistons still led by five points with less than a minute to play and had the ball. But Jackson missed jump shots with 42 and 12 seconds to play and the Knicks countered with an Amundson tip-in and then Galloway's tying triple with six seconds left. The Pistons shot just 33 percent in the second half.

"I know we could have done a better job of staying aggressive, continuing to try to get into the paint, get to the rim like we were doing in the first half," Monroe said. "Maybe they did turn it up. I'm not sure. But we did become less aggressive."

Maybe there's no such thing as a must-win game with 25 still to play, but it sure felt like the Pistons had to win Friday night to keep their dream of making the playoffs after a 5-23 start alive. Now they go to Washington not only with a stinging loss fresh in mind, but with four starters who played 40-plus minutes on short rest. Seven of their next eight and 13 of their next 18 come on the road.

"If we come with the approach we came with the previous three games, we'll go in and compete," Van Gundy said. "If we play like we did in the second half and the two overtimes tonight, then we'll be in a lot of trouble. It all depends on which team shows up."