The Detroit Pistons avenged the 121-115 loss they suffered back on December 29th at Madison Square Garden, with a 111-105 victory at the Palace of Auburn Hills against the New York Knicks.

Knicks Display Horrendous First Half

New York started the game on a 1-10 shooting display. They were down early 12-2, after the Pistons had knocked down four straight three-pointers. In the second stanza of the game, Detroit continued to dominate, tallying 33 points and building a 24 point lead at halftime. New York shot 28 percent from the field and 18 percent from beyond the arc over the first 24 minutes. The Pistons were also destroying their opponents in the rebounding department by a margin of 28-19.

New York Starts Road To Comeback In Second Half

The halftime break seemed to have done wonders for the Knickerbockers. They came out with much more energy and desire to fight until the end in the second half. New York hit seven straight field goals and also went on a 9-0 run in the third period. They concluded the quarter hitting 10 of their 12 field goals and converted on 13 of their 14 free throw attempts. Meanwhile, Detroit did not attempt a single free throw in the frame and were outscored 35-18. Arron Afflalo notched 12 points in the quarter.

After trailing by as many as 27, Langston Galloway tied the game at 95 by hitting a 3-pointer with 2:45 left in regulation. Robin Lopez then followed it up with lay-up to give the Knicks their first lead of the night. Detroit retaliated when Anthony Tolliver hit a 3-pointer of his own, before Reggie Jackson hit two back to back 3-pointers. The crowd serenaded Jackson with a “Reggie” chant while he converted on his free throw attempts after being fouled, which lead to Detroit holding on to earn a home win. Galloway contributed with 12 points in the final quarter.  

Top Performers

Lopez ended with 26 points and 16 boards. Afflalo finished with 24 points while Carmelo Anthony chipped in 19. Gallaway summed up 17 to lead the Knicks bench. Rookie Stanley Johnson, who made his second career start for the injured Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, lead all Detroit scorers with 22 points in 44 minutes of action. Jackson tallied 21 points and Andre Drummond concluded with 17 points and 13 rebounds.

Other Things To Note

-Kristaps Porzingis continued to show his struggles with a five point performance on 2-9 shooting.

-All five Pistons’ starters chipped in at least 12 points.

-At the 6:35 mark of the fourth period, Lance Thomas was called for a flagrant foul for bumping into the left leg of Drummond.

-Jose Calderon returned to action after a four game absence with a strained groin.

-Caldwell-Pope will remain out at least until the All-Star Game.

-These two teams will wrap up their season serious match-up on March 5th, 2016 at 7:00 P.M. EST.

Up Next

-New York will have a few hours to prepare for their next game when they return home to face the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night.

-Detroit will play against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse.  

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