Knicks thwart Pistons to end five-game skid
NEW YORK -- The New York Knicks snapped a five-game losing streak and dealt a blow to the Detroit Pistons' playoff hopes with a 109-95 win Monday night at Madison Square Garden.
Kristaps Porzingis came through for New York (28-46) with 25 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. He was 10 of 16 from the field.
The Knicks shot 53.6 percent and had 26 assists in one of their better offensive games of the season.
Carmelo Anthony, who missed the previous two games with a sore knee, had 21 points and five assists, and Derrick Rose added 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting from the field and six assists.
The Pistons (34-40) have lost four straight and seven of their last eight. They are 11-26 on the road and 20-26 against the Eastern Conference.
The Pistons missed an opportunity to gain ground on the two teams that are ahead of them in the playoff picture. Both Miami, which is in the eighth and final playoff spot, and Chicago, sitting in ninth, were off Monday.
The loss dropped the Pistons, who are ninth, 1 1/2 games behind the Heat for the last spot. Detroit hosts Miami on Tuesday.
Marcus Morris led the Pistons with 20 points, and Andre Drummond had 10 points and 15 rebounds.
A conventional three-point play from Knicks center Willy Hernangomez extended New York's lead to 101-87 with 3:51 remaining.
The Knicks missed nine shots in a row and went four minutes without scoring as the Pistons pulled to 94-85 with 5:24 to play. That was the closest they got.
New York opened the third quarter with a 13-0 spurt to push its lead to 77-59. The Knicks made 7 of 11 shots from the floor in the spree.
Detroit missed its first 10 shots of the third quarter before Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit a trey with 4:52 left in the quarter.
Anthony tossed in 17 points in the second quarter. His third 3-pointer gave New York a 64-59 cushion at the break. He was 8 of 12 with four assists in the half.
New York shot 60 percent from the field in the first two quarters.
Four straight jumpers from Anthony, including a 3-pointer, gave the Knicks a 50-44 lead with 6:36 left in the second quarter.
Morris delivered 10 points and Drummond had eight points and seven rebounds to help Detroit to a 36-34 lead in the first quarter. Porzingis poured in 15 points.
The Knicks went on an 8-0 run to tie the score at 24 on Anthony's first basket of the night.
NOTES: Pistons F Reggie Jackson was given the night off for rest. ... Detroit's starters are all averaging 14-plus points per game. The Pistons are the first team since 2006-07 to have five players average 14-plus points in a season. All five starters scored in double digits on Monday. ... Pistons G Ish Smith is four games from playing in his 400th game. ... Detroit ranks first in fewest second-chance points allowed. ... Detroit C Andre Drummond has collected the third-most offensive rebounds in the NBA among players in the first five years of their career since 1973-74. ... Knicks C Willy Hernangomez is first among rookies in field goal percentage and second in rebounds.