Harris paces Pistons in rout of Knicks
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Tobias Harris poured in a season-high 28 points to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 112-92 victory over the fading New York Knicks on Saturday at The Palace.
Andre Drummond notched his 45th double-double with 24 points and 15 rebounds and Reggie Jackson contributed 19 points and eight assists for Detroit (33-33), which has won four of its last five. Jon Leuer tossed in 11 points as the Pistons reached the .500 mark for the first time since mid-December.
Kristaps Porzingis had 18 points, six rebounds, four assists and six blocks to lead the Knicks (26-40), who have lost four of their last five. Willy Hernangomez contributed 14 points and nine rebounds, Courtney Lee and Carmelo Anthony added 13 points apiece and Chasson Randle chipped in 12 points for New York.
Anthony failed to reach the 20-point mark for the fifth consecutive game.
Detroit led most of the way.
A Harris layup gave the Pistons a 75-60 lead early in the third. The Knicks responded with a 12-2 spurt, capped by a Porzingis 3-pointer, to pull within five. New York got as close as three but trailed 91-89 heading into the fourth.
The Knicks didn't have another run in them. Drummond's putback midway through the quarter made it 98-85. Jackson's three-point play with 4:41 left upped Detroit's lead to 103-87. A Jackson 3 gave the Pistons a 19-point lead.
Harris scored 23 points as the Pistons raced to a 66-53 halftime lead. Both teams shot over 50 percent during the first half but New York committed nine turnovers, leading to 16 Detroit points.
NOTES: Pistons PF Tobias Harris started in place of Jon Leuer for the second consecutive game after coming off the bench for 26 games. "The other night (against the Cleveland Cavaliers), it was a matchup thing," coach Stan Van Gundy said. "We won the game, so that's why we came back to it tonight. Not a lot of in-depth analysis there." ... Detroit led after the first quarter for just the second time in nine games since the All-Star break. ... The Knicks won five of the last seven season series against the Pistons. They play once more on March 27. ... New York has not won consecutive games since Dec. 20-22, when it recorded home victories over the Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic. ... The Knicks have used 17 different lineups this season. ... Detroit C Andre Drummond needs 20 more points to reach 5,000 for his career.