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Pistons Survive Fourth-Quarter Struggles, Emerge With First Win Of Season

By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak

AUBURN HILLS (CBS DETROIT) - Fourth-quarter miscues almost killed the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night. Rebounding lapses, missed shots, turnovers and free throw failures felt like nails in the coffin.

As the Pistons frittered away what was once an 18-point lead over the New York Knicks, who eventually trailed by only four points with 16 seconds remaining, one Pistons fan called out - half in mockery, half in wonderment -  "What is going on here?"

Detroit, while not playing stellar basketball by any means, had largely controlled the game, outrebounding New York by a meaningful margin and converting on 47.8 percent of its 3-point attempts. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope kept the energy up offensively, scoring 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting, while Josh Smith played a major role in limiting Knicks star Carmelo Anthony to two points in the first half and 13 points overall.

As solid a position as the Pistons had put themselves in, they still almost let the game get away.

Ultimately, however, Detroit made enough free throws and grabbed enough rebounds - and had built enough of a lead earlier - to eke out the win, 98-95, giving new head coach Stan Van Gundy his first victory as a Piston.

Van Gundy was unhappy that the Pistons missed a plethora of shots around the rim and muffed on some crucial free throw attempts late, but he was pleased with the team's defense, which held Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire to 28 points combined on 12-of-34 shooting.

"You have to contain those two guys," said Greg Monroe, who led the Pistons with 23 points and 18 rebounds. "You kind of have to set the tone early against them, and I think we were able to kind of get both of them out of rhythm. The guys did a wonderful job of guarding him and containing him and everybody helping out. We just have to find ways to do that every game.

"That was a tough one," Monroe added. "We made it a little tougher than it had to be, but definitely happy to get the win."

Smith had a rough night offensively, going 2 for 17 from the field and struggling down the stretch in particular, but Van Gundy liked his effort, especially in regards to his work against Anthony, who has averaged at least 20 points per game throughout his career.

"[Smith] played good defense tonight," Van Gundy said. "He worked hard. He had double-figure rebounds. All those guys up front did. Guys keep making that kind of effort, we'll eventually figure it out."

Fans gave Smith - notorious for chucking copious amounts of 3-pointers - a hard time Wednesday night, booing him with almost as much gusto as they booed Anthony. Monroe said he believes Smith will shake off his bad night and be better offensively the rest of the year. Monroe sounded confident Smith can have a significant positive impact for the Pistons.

"He's so versatile on both ends of the floor," Monroe said. "That's huge for us. He can guard multiple positions, he rebounds very well, he can break out, make plays for others, score in the post, a great driver. Anybody with that size and athleticism that's that versatile, it's always a plus."

The Pistons came perilously close to falling to 0-4 on the season Wednesday, but they survived. The game was not pretty, and Van Gundy looked wiped afterward, but - in what for Pistons fans must have been a refreshing change from last season - Detroit got the job done.

"We just came together," Caldwell-Pope said. "We didn't just separate. We stayed together, and we just finished the game."

 

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