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Stuckey and Pistons get past Kings

Mar 15, 2012 - 7:22 AM Sacramento, CA (Sports Network) - Rodney Stuckey dropped in 35 points as the Detroit Pistons overcame a slow start to down the Sacramento Kings, 124-112, at Power Balance Pavilion.

Greg Monroe added 32 points and 11 rebounds, while Tayshaun Prince finished with 28 points, seven assists and five rebounds for Detroit, which won for the fourth time in five games.

"It's not necessarily one guy, but Rodney has played very, very well and because of that, it frees things up for other guys," Pistons head coach Lawrence Frank said.

The Pistons also snapped a 17-game road losing streak against Western Conference teams. The last time Detroit won on the road against the West was a 100-94 decision against the Kings on November 14, 2010.

Tyreke Evans netted 23 points to pace Sacramento, but had to be helped off the court late in the fourth quarter after rolling his ankle.

Jason Thompson and Isaiah Thomas contributed 21 points apiece in the Kings' third straight loss. Thompson added a game-high 15 rebounds.

The first 10-plus minutes of action saw seven lead changes, seven ties and neither team lead by more than four points until the Kings closed out the first quarter with an 8-2 spurt to hold a 32-25 advantage after one.

That run continued into the second quarter as Sacramento opened the frame with seven straight points to jump out to a 14-point lead, 39-25.

After Francisco Garcia's fadeaway jumper gave the Kings a 48-32 advantage with seven minutes left in the first half, Detroit began to storm back, outscoring Sacramento by a mark of 25-10 over the remainder of the second quarter to cut its deficit to 58-57 at the break.

Jason Maxiell's jumper to open the third put the Pistons on top for the first time since late in the first quarter, and after Marcus Thornton responded with a trey to regain the lead for Sacramento, Detroit took over the game.

Monroe's long two-pointer knotted the game at 61 and kicked off a 25-10 swing that was capped by three straight treys by Stuckey to run out to an 86-71 lead.

Stuckey recorded 14 points in the game-changing run, which put Detroit ahead for good.

Sacramento never seriously threatened for the rest of the game as the Pistons held a 97-81 advantage after three and led by double digits for the majority of the fourth quarter until a late push by Sacramento closed the gap to 118-109 with a little over a minute to play.

"We just broke down in all aspects of the game," Kings forward DeMarcus Cousins said. "We just have to come back and do better."

Game Notes

Detroit improved to 4-16 on the road this season, while Sacramento fell to 10-9 at home...The Kings are now 2-3 on a season-high nine-game homestand...Each team pulled down 37 rebounds...Prince's 28 points gave him 9,026 for his career, making him the 10th Piston to reach that mark.