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Pistons dominate skidding Bobcats

Mar 1, 2012 - 4:24 AM Auburn Hills, MI (Sports Network) - Rodney Stuckey poured in a game-high 29 points as the Detroit Pistons crushed the dismal Charlotte Bobcats, 109-94 at The Palace of Auburn Hills on Wednesday.

Brandon Knight finished with 20 points and five assists, while Greg Monroe added 19 points to go with a career-high 20 rebounds. Tayshaun Prince also had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds and Ben Gordon added 10 points for the Pistons, who snapped a three-game skid.

"I thought we put more (effort) into the game tonight," Pistons head coach Lawrence Frank said. "I think we invested more into the game and played harder."

Corey Maggette paced the Bobcats with 17 points and five boards, while D.J. White and Reggie Williams added 15 and 14 points, respectively. Gerald Henderson contributed 13 points for Charlotte, which has lost three straight and 19 of its last 20 games.

After a tightly-played first quarter which featured five lead changes and six ties, Detroit held a 24-23 advantage behind 11 points in the frame from Stuckey.

The Pistons opened the second quarter with a 15-6 flurry to expand their lead to 10, 39-29, with seven minutes to play before the break.

Kemba Walker nailed a running bank shot to cut the deficit to 41-35 with 5:29 to go, but the Pistons roared back with a 12-2 burst, capped by a 19-foot jumper from Jonas Jerebko, to extend the lead to 16 with 2:02 to play in the first half. They led 58-43 at the break.

Despite being outscored 26-25 in the third quarter, Detroit led by double- digits throughout the frame and a three-point play by Monroe with six minutes to go in the quarter gave the Pistons their largest lead of the game at 22.

Trailing, 81-61, late in the third, Charlotte put together a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to 12 with 11:42 left in the game, but it would get no closer as Detroit rolled through the remainder of the fourth quarter to the easy win.

"It is disheartening to lose like this," Bobcats head coach Paul Silas said. "Guys are not really playing tough, and for me that's the major problem."

Game Notes

Detroit has now won both meetings between the teams this season...Jerebko added eight points and six rebounds for the Pistons...D.J. Augustin donated eight points and 10 assists for the Bobcats...Detroit shot 50 percent from the floor, while Charlotte shot 43.9 percent...The Bobcats turned 14 Detroit turnovers into 18 points, but struggled from the charity stripe, hitting just 19-of-29 from the line...The Pistons got the better of the play on the glass, outrebounding Charlotte, 55-37.