New York 99, Detroit 91

New York

Pistons-Knicks Game Review

New York, NY (Sports Network) - Nate Robinson sank 5-of-9 three-pointers and ended with 27 points, as the New York Knicks held on for a 99-91 victory over the Detroit Pistons in the back end of a home-and-home matchup.

Wilson Chandler had 17 points, while David Lee added 15 rebounds and 11 points for New York, which lost at Detroit on Saturday. Monday's victory was the Knicks' second in their last six games.

"Before the game we just talked about winning, by any means necessary," Robinson said. "So our whole aspect was...to just come out play hard and win. Even if it was an ugly win, we just had to get the job done."

Rodney Stuckey had 22 points to pace the Pistons, who had won their last three. Ben Wallace finished with a season-high 16 points to go with 14 boards in the loss.

"He played extremely well," Pistons head coach John Kuester said of Wallace. "He's competed the entire season. He did a great job on the boards. We needed other people to step up and we didn't get the production in certain situations."

Ahead by one shortly into the fourth quarter, the Knicks scored eight in a row and didn't trail again. Al Harrington opened the burst with a three, while Danilo Gallinari drained a three from the left corner. Gallinari followed that with a long two from the right side to give New York an 83-74 advantage with 7:47 to play.

The Pistons stayed close and drew within five several times down the stretch, including when Charlie Villanueva cut to the basket for a layup with 3:51 to go, getting Detroit within 90-85.

But both teams went cold over the next few minutes, and with 1:11 on the clock, Jason Maxiell made a jump shot for the Pistons for a 92-87 game.

However, Lee followed with a three-point play, and Detroit missed three shots on its next possession. Harrington's two foul shots with 32.1 left put the Knicks up 97-87, as they held on for the victory.

It was 23-23 after the first quarter, and the Knicks moved ahead shortly into the second. Harrington and Robinson each provided five points in the 10-0 run, which made it a 38-27 game with 7:13 left in the half.

The Pistons trimmed their deficit some, but the Knicks ended the frame with another 10-point burst to take a 57-43 at the break.

However, Detroit used a 12-0 run to grab the lead in the third quarter. Wallace's fadeaway basket with 2:45 left provided the Pistons with a 68-64 edge, and they were up 70-68 going to the fourth.