Pistons stave off Knicks for first win
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Auburn Hills, MI (SportsNetwork.com) - Greg Monroe racked up 23 points and 18 rebounds and the Detroit Pistons held off the New York Knicks down the stretch for a 98-95 victory, their first of the Stan Van Gundy era.
Monroe's monster performance and a 20-point effort out of Kentavious Caldwell- Pope got Detroit in the win column after opening Van Gundy's first season as head coach with three straight losses.
"We made it a little tougher than it had to be, but definitely happy to get the win," Monroe said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Pistons dominated the glass, outrebounding the Knicks by a 55-43 margin and recording 19 second-chance points, and went 11-of-23 from 3-point range in addition to playing lockdown defense on Carmelo Anthony for much of the night.
Andre Drummond added 13 rebounds and Josh Smith had 10. Smith finished a rough 2-of-17 from the field but shined on the other end, leading an effort that held Anthony without a basket in the first half and a 5-of-21 shooting performance for the game.
"I thought early on he was trying to do the right thing and not look to attack too early, make sure everybody was involved and I think that made it a little harder for him to find his rhythm," Knicks head coach Derek Fisher said about Anthony.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Anthony got on track late to end with 13 points, and New York cut a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit down to two before ultimately being dealt a second loss in as many nights.
Tim Hardaway Jr. paced the Knicks with 20 points while filling the sixth-man role of J.R. Smith, suspended for the game for striking Washington's Glen Rice Jr. in the groin on Tuesday.
Jason Smith contributed 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting for New York, which received 15 points each from Iman Shumpert and Amar'e Stoudemire.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Pistons built a 49-37 lead at halftime behind their prowess on the boards and Anthony's struggles, then extended the margin to as high as 18 points in the third quarter after Jonas Jerebko buried a triple following a Monroe tip- in to make the score 72-54 with under two minutes left in the period.
Detroit remained on cruise control for much of the fourth quarter, owning an 89-74 advantage with less than five minutes left before the Knicks came storming back.
Stoudemire scored the first seven points of a 12-2 run capped by Hardaway's layup off a turnover that trimmed the lead to 91-86 with 2:08 to go. It was a 97-94 game when Hardaway drained a long three with 7.3 seconds to play, and Caldwell-Pope missed twice from the line on the ensuing possession to give New York a chance at a tie.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Shumpert was fouled before getting off a shot, however, and made just 1-of-2 from the stripe to bring the Knicks within two. His desperation 3-point try from well beyond half-court was well off the mark at the buzzer, and came after Brandon Jennings hit 1-of-2 foul shots for the final score.
An 8-0 run spurred by the bench enabled the Pistons to gain separation early in the second quarter. D.J. Augustin began the surge with five straight points and Jerebko capped it with a long-range triple to put Detroit up 35-24 four minutes into the period.
The Pistons were up by as many as 15 in the first half and maintained a double-digit cushion for the majority of the second quarter.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Anthony's first basket after nine straight misses, which came just over three minutes into the second half, brought the Knicks within 53-44. However, Detroit countered with a 9-2 flurry that featured one of Caldwell-Pope's four makes from long distance and ended on Drummond's putback dunk, which gave the Pistons a commanding 62-46 lead nearing the midway mark of the third quarter.
Game Notes
Monroe had 18 points and 11 rebounds in his season debut Saturday against Brooklyn, having served a two-game suspension for a DUI arrest to begin the campaign ... Knicks guard Pablo Prigioni did not return after spraining his right ankle early in the second quarter ... The Pistons entered the game last in the NBA in 3-point percentage (21.9 percent) ... Hardaway's father, Tim Sr., currently serves as a Pistons' assistant under Van Gundy ... Anthony was coming off an 8-of-23 shooting effort in Tuesday's loss to Washington ... Augustin and Jennings each finished with 12 points.