Watch CBS News

Pistons Hammer Knicks, 97-81

JEFFREY BERNSTEIN, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Brandon Jennings scored 29 points and the Detroit Pistons extended the New York Knicks' losing streak to 10 games with a 97-81 victory on Friday.

Jodie Meeks added 15 points, Greg Monroe and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope each had 12. Andre Drummond finished with seven points and 20 rebounds.

J.R. Smith led the Knicks with 22 points. Cole Aldrich added a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds. No other Knick scored in double figures.

Carmelo Anthony, who leads the Knicks and is fifth in the NBA in scoring with 23.9 points per game, did not play due to a sore left knee

It was a season-high fourth straight win for the Pistons.

The Pistons only fell behind twice in the game, both times by two points in the first quarter. Trailing 15-13, Jennings hit a layup with 3:38 left to spark a 9-0 run and the Pistons never trailed again.

Trailing 24-20 after the first quarter, the Knicks pulled within two at 29-27 on Quincy Acy's jump shot with 9:28 left in the second quarter.

The Pistons then scored the next 11 points and increased their lead to 57-38 at halftime.

Things got worse for the Knicks after the break, as they didn't score until Pablo Prigioni hit two free throws with 8:01 left in the third quarter. They didn't connect on their first field goal until Jose Calderon hit a foul-line jumper with 4:54 remaining.

Detroit kept adding to its lead, taking an 82-52 advantage after three quarters and increasing it to a game-high 33 points 87-54 on Jonas Jerebko's 3-pointer with 10:49 remaining.

The Knicks never got closer than 16 points the rest of the way.

TIP-INS:

Pistons: The Pistons, who suffered a 13-game losing streak earlier this season, most recently won four in a row from Dec. 1-7, 2013. Detroit hasn't won five straight since Dec. 4-12, 2009. . The Pistons also won the teams' first matchup of the season 98-95 on Nov. 5 in Detroit. They have won four of the past five meetings.

Knicks: The franchise's longest losing streak is 12 games (March 23-April 13, 1985). . The Knicks increased their team-record home losing streak to nine straight. . Amare Stoudemire (sore right knee), Samuel Dalembert (sprained right ankle), Tim Hardaway Jr. (concussion), and Iman Shumpert (dislocated left shoulder) also sat out for the Knicks.

UP NEXT:

Pistons: Host Sacramento on Sunday

Knicks: Host Milwaukee on Sunday

 

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.