Auburn Hills, MI (Sports Network) – Tayshaun Prince netted 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds while Greg Monroe notched a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds as Detroit beat New Jersey, 92-82, at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
“It feels good,” Monroe said of his progress. “It’s even better that we got the win tonight. I’m just out there working. My stats are just showing that I’m out there trying to help my team win the game.”
Tracy McGrady scored 16 points and corralled eight boards as the Pistons halted a four-game skid. Austin Daye contributed 12 points off the bench while Ben Gordon supplied 11 points for the victors.
Anthony Morrow recorded 22 points for the Nets, whose road woes continued with their 12th straight loss away from home. Brook Lopez chipped in 16 points in the loss.
“We just didn’t have any energy in the first and third quarters tonight and that is what it was,” Lopez said. “It seems to happen a lot (slow starts), we got lucky that we were covered against Cleveland and another recent game. But it happens a lot and those games we were fortunate to recover, but not tonight. We can’t always rely on that we have to get better.”
Tied at 18, with 3:12 left in the first, Detroit went on a six-point run finished by McGrady’s running hookshot. The Pistons kept that margin, 28-22, to conclude the opening quarter.
Detroit held onto a 10-point lead during the early parts of the second stanza, however, a 9-0 run on Morrow’s three free throws and two trifectas made it a 35-34 game with just under seven minutes remaining.
Prince made a three-point play with 1:11 left in the half to give Detroit a 48-44 edge at the break.
The Pistons ballooned the lead to as much as 13, 62-49, in the third quarter following two Gordon free throws. They took a 72-63 lead into the final period.
The margin grew as much as 14 in favor of the home team during the final frame. Daye hit a turnaround jumper with 1 1/2 minutes remaining to make it 92-78 and the Pistons were able to cruise for the win.
The Nets are just 3-24 on the road this season this season. New Jersey’s last win as the visitor was on December 21 at Memphis…It was a career-high points for Monroe. He was 10-of-14 from the field…Detroit turned the ball over just eight times, while converting 12 Nets turnovers into 19 points.