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Knicks try to get offense on track vs. Pistons

Dec 7, 2008 - 7:36 AM Detroit (11-7) at NY Knicks (8-11), 12:00pm EST

NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Mike D'Antoni isn't used to this. For one of the rare times in his recent coaching career, his team isn't putting points on the board. The New York Knicks have opened December on a bit of a dry spell, dropping three straight - and failing to hit the 100-point mark in each of those losses.

The Knicks will try to put a stop to that streak in a Sunday matinee against the up-and-down Detroit Pistons.

Such struggles from D'Antoni's run-and-gun offense are out of the ordinary. The Knicks' recent stretch marks the first time since December 9-14, 2005 that a D'Antoni-coached team has failed to score 100 points in three consecutive games. While they are still fourth in the league in scoring at 104.0 points per contest, they have averaged 91.3 over their last three.

Prior to their current skid, the Knicks looked like they might be coming together, having finally gotten used to new faces Al Harrington and Tim Thomas. They closed November with a season-high 138 points in a 13-point victory over the Golden State Warriors. David Lee set career-highs with 37 points and 21 rebounds, Harrington added 36 and Chris Duhon dished out 22 assists.

Since then, points have been harder to come by. They committed 28 turnovers and shot 39 percent in Wednesday's 118-82 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, then managed to attempt just six free throws in a 98-95 loss to Atlanta on Friday.

New York will face a Detroit club that has been difficult to pin down since acquiring Allen Iverson last month. The Pistons are just 7-7 with the perennial All-Star in the lineup, including Friday's 96-91 home loss to the struggling Philadelphia 76ers that saw Detroit squander a 15-point lead.