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Stuckey carries Pistons over Jazz

Feb 27, 2011 - 4:59 AM Auburn Hills, MI (Sports Network) - Rodney Stuckey finished with a game-high 28 points, eight assists and five rebounds as the Detroit Pistons edged the Utah Jazz, 120-116, at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Austin Daye added 11 of his 18 points in the last quarter while Ben Gordon contributed 17 for Detroit, which rebounded from its disheartening 110-94 loss at Philadelphia on Friday and ended a three-game skid in the process. Charlie Villanueva posted 16 points in a reserve role and rookie Greg Monroe supplied 12 points with a game-high 16 rebounds.

The Pistons used nine players, one night after they only dressed six due to a reported boycott from several players under a protest of head coach John Kuester. But in the win, the Pistons' players were all smiles as they shot a solid 50 percent from the field and 64.7 percent from three-point range.

"It's a great win," Kuester said. "We have had a lot of interesting things happen to our team recently. The guys that played tonight, god bless them, they gave me everything they had tonight."

Detroit snapped an 11-game skid against the Jazz, beating them for the first time since March 13, 2005.

Paul Millsap led the Jazz with 23 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Andrei Kirilenko added 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and Al Jefferson contributed 20 points with nine boards in the loss. Devin Harris totaled 17 points and 12 helpers.

The Jazz were hoping to make it two wins in a row for new head coach Tyrone Corbin, but lost for the sixth time in seven games.

"These are the kings of games we have to win," Corbin said. "Give [Detroit] credit, they had their backs against the wall. We hurt ourselves a little bit too."

Utah held a 108-105 lead inside three minutes remaining. However, Daye knocked down a crucial three-pointer at 2:28 to tie the game. His bucket also started a quick 8-0 run that gave the Pistons some breathing room. Will Bynum added a three-point play and his two free throws capped the burst.

The newly-acquired Harris made it a 113-110 game with a pair from the line, and the Jazz got as close at 114-112 with a Jefferson layup with 27.4 seconds remaining. Stuckey made a pair from the charity stripe and Gordon connected on four free throws down the stretch to seal the victory for Detroit. Jefferson's jumper accounted for the final margin and capped a 15-8 Pistons run to end the game.

Kirilenko posted 12 points in the first as the Jazz jumper out to an early 28-27 lead after the back-and-forth quarter. The Pistons tied the contest on a pair of Jason Maxiell free throws to open the second, and after a Villanueva three-pointer at 10:44 their lead was 35-32.

The Detroit lead reached 46-36 on Bynum's driving layup with just over 6 1/2 minutes remaining and it got as high as 11, 56-45, with a Villanueva hook shot at 2:54. The Jazz ended the half on a 8-2 run, and Stuckey's alley-oop layup in the final seconds gave Detroit a 58-53 lead at the break.

The Pistons widened their cushion to as high as nine, 62-53, in the opening minute of the third, but the Jazz slowly chipped away and they took the lead with a Harris three-pointer at the midway point of the quarter. The teams traded the lead down the stretch and Francisco Elson's jumper in the final half-minute gave Utah an 84-83 edge entering the final stanza.

Game Notes

The Pistons are 15-16 at The Palace this season...Utah defeated Detroit, 102-97, on January 3 this season at EnergySolutions Arena and had won 13 of the previous 14 meetings between the teams...Bynum scored 11 points with eight assists in a reserve role for Detroit...Raja Bell and Derrick Favors scored 14 and 10 points, respectively, in the loss...The back-and-forth battle featured 20 ties.