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Knicks wallop Pistons

Mar 25, 2012 - 4:54 AM New York, NY (Sports Network) - Amare Stoudemire led a balanced Knicks attack with 17 points, and New York overwhelmed the Pistons, 101-79, on Saturday.

Tyson Chandler scored 15 and grabbed 17 rebounds, Carmelo Anthony netted 15 points of his own and J.R. Smith and Jeremy Lin finished with 14 and 13 points, respectively.

New York shook off a loss to Toronto on Friday, its first defeat first under interim coach Mike Woodson, to improve to 6-1 during his tenure. It swept the season series 3-0 over Detroit in the process.

Stoudemire sat out the fourth quarter due to a stiff back, but Anthony said it's not a cause for concern.

"I saw him (Stoudemire) after the game and he said everything is cool," Anthony said. "He just didn't want to take any chances."

Ben Gordon drained 4-of-8 three-point attempts en route to a game-high 20 points for the Pistons, as they suffered their fifth consecutive loss.

"They dominated the paint. They were plus-20 points in the paint, plus-24 in rebounding," Pistons coach Lawrence Frank said. "They had 18 offensive rebounds, seven steals in the fourth quarter. It's frustrating. You have to give them credit, but they were definitely the aggressors in the paint, which hurts."

The teams swapped the lead a few times early and Detroit came back from an early eight-point hole to tie it at 31 near the midpoint of the second quarter.

But the Knicks quickly gained momentum after that tie, erupting for a 13-0 run. Stoudemire hit a jumper to begin the spurt and then New York took advantage of several free-throw opportunities, converting 8-of-9 attempts from the line before Lin capped off the spurt with a three-pointer.

The Knicks held the Pistons to 32.4 percent (12-of-37) shooting from the field in the first half and took a 49-37 advantage into halftime.

Detroit managed to improve its shooting in the third quarter, notching a 50 percent mark by making 10-of-20 attempts, but Anthony hit four of his five shots as he helped New York to a remarkable 64.7 percent (11-of-17) clip, and the Pistons got no closer than within seven during the frame.

It was more of the same in the final stanza. The Knicks held a double-digit edge throughout and led by as many as 24.

Game Notes

Greg Monroe finished with 12 points for Detroit...Lin had seven turnovers...New York was without backup center Jared Jeffries, who suffered a right knee injury against Philadelphia on Wednesday. He is expected to miss two weeks...Indiana guard Rodney Stuckey missed his third straight game with a sore left big toe, while guard Will Bynum sat with an illness.