Auburn Hills, MI – Brandon Knight filled the stat sheet with 20 points, 10 assists and six rebounds in Detroit's 117-99 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Kyle Singler also scored 20 points and Greg Monroe contributed 18 with 16 rebounds for Detroit, which beat Cleveland for a fifth straight time. Rodney Stuckey totaled 14 points for the Pistons, who snapped a two-game skid.
Detroit won despite not having newly-acquired point guard Jose Calderon available for the game. He isn't able to play yet due to visa issues.
The Pistons acquired Calderon Wednesday night from the Toronto Raptors in a three-team deal that also included the Memphis Grizzlies. Tayshaun Prince and Austin Daye were sent to the Grizzlies, who shipped star guard Rudy Gay north of the border.
The Cavs, who have lost back-to-back contests following a three-game winning streak, were led by Tristan Thompson's 19 points. Kyrie Irving had 14 points, but just three after the first quarter.
Stuckey's big third quarter allowed the Pistons to get some distance on the Cavs. He scored 10 in the period and Knight added nine.
Tyler Zeller's layup, his lone basket of the game, had the visitors within 62-57 with nearly seven minutes left in the third. The Pistons then took control as Stuckey scored 10 straight Detroit points in one stretch to carry the hosts to a 74-62 advantage with about four minutes to go. Included in that was an alley-oop layup off a feed from Monroe.
The margin stood at 85-68 moving to the fourth, but the Cavs had one last rally. They got within 99-90 with 4:43 remaining following a 3-point shot from C.J. Miles.
Cleveland got no closer, however, as head coach Byron Scott chose to go with his reserves for the entire final quarter. Mareese Speights and Wayne Ellington each scored 10 in the fourth for the Cavs.
After the game, Scott questioned the heart of his team.
"Are you guys content?," he told reporters. "Being 13-34, if you're content I would appreciate it you just telling me. I'm not content and if they are content then we have to make some changes. I don't see how you in the world you could be could be fat and happy right now."
The Pistons scored eight in a row in the first quarter to extend to a 22-11 lead, and they held a 24-16 edge going to the second. The Cavs, who never led, were within 54-47 at the half.
"With what's going on with our team, the energy is kind of down," Knight said. "I just wanted to make sure we got off to a good start, make sure I had energy and give it to some of the other guys."
Game Notes
Cleveland had won four straight games against Eastern Conference opponents ... Cavaliers guard Daniel Gibson missed his second straight game due to a sprained toe ... The Cavaliers have lost the first three meetings with the Pistons this season.
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