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.
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.
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.
