Stuckey gets 36, leads Pistons past Kings 114-108
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rodney Stuckey scored a season-high 36 points and rookie Brandon Knight added 23 points and 10 assists as the Detroit Pistons rallied to beat the Sacramento Kings 114-108 on Friday night.
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. Detroit has now won six of its last eight games after a 4-20 start.
DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings with 26 points and 15 rebounds, while Marcus Thornton added 24.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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.
A layup by Knight 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. Ben Gordon followed with a trey of his own on Detroit's next possession to make it a four-point game.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Cousins and Knight traded baskets, and the Pistons clinched the game from the free-throw line.
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. ... 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.