National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Detroit 97, New York 81
When: 7:30 PM ET, Friday, January 2, 2015
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Officials: #40 Leon Wood, #10 Ron Garretson, #53 Gediminas Petraitis
Attendance: 19812

Pistons 97, Knicks 81: Brandon Jennings scored 29 points as visiting Detroit handed injury-riddled New York its 10th straight loss.

Jodie Meeks added 15 points off the bench while Greg Monroe collected 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Pistons, who are riding a season-long four-game winning streak. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope also tallied 12 points and Andre Drummond pulled down a game-high 20 rebounds for Detroit, which survived an 8-of-14 performance from the foul line.

J.R. Smith scored 22 points and dished out five assists for the Knicks, who were missing Carmelo Anthony (knee), Amar'e Stoudemire (knee) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (concussion). Cole Aldrich contributed 11 points and 14 rebounds for New York, which has dropped a franchise-record nine straight games at Madison Square Garden.

Jennings and Monroe scored eight points apiece as the Pistons led 24-20 after the first quarter, and Meeks scored five points as part of an 11-0 run to push the margin to 40-27. The Knicks pulled within eight before Caldwell-Pope sparked a 15-4 surge to close out the first half as Detroit shot 57.5 percent to take a 57-38 advantage into intermission.

Jennings drilled a 3-pointer during a 10-2 run to put Detroit on top by 27 as New York didn't register its first field goal of the third quarter until the 4:54 mark and trailed 82-52 heading into the final frame. Meeks' driving layup put the Pistons in front 89-58 and they coasted to their third straight win over the Knicks and their first at Madison Square Garden since Apr. 8, 2009.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Jennings outscored the Knicks 16-14 in the third quarter. … Detroit finished 13-of-33 from beyond the arc and has knocked down 44 3-pointers in its last three games. … New York F Andrea Bargnani left the game in the first quarter with a right calf injury and did not return.
Top Game Performances
 
Detroit   New York
Brandon Jennings 29 Scoring J.R. Smith 22
D.J. Augustin 9 Assists J.R. Smith 5
Andre Drummond 20 Rebounds Cole Aldrich 14
Brandon Jennings 3 Free Throws Made Pablo Prigioni 2
Andre Drummond 3 Steals J.R. Smith 3
Joel Anthony 1 Blocks Cole Aldrich 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Detroit 97 50.0 13-33 8-14 24 49 3 10 17
New York 81 35.2 10-24 7-14 18 47 4 13 14
Upcoming Games
  • New York will play their next game at home against Milwaukee. The Knicks have a W/L % of .200 after a win and .133 after a loss.
  • Detroit will play their next game at home against Sacramento. The Pistons have a W/L % of .556 after a win and .174 after a loss.