Lee has 30 points, helps Knicks rout Pistons

[December 30, 2009]  AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- David Lee had a season-high 30 points and 12 rebounds, and the New York Knicks handed the Detroit Pistons their eighth straight loss, 104-87 Tuesday night.

Wilson Chandler added 23 points and nine rebounds for the Knicks. Richard Hamilton had 16 points and Rodney Stuckey scored 15 for Detroit despite combining to shoot just 11 of 34.

New York was the better team throughout the first half, outshooting the Pistons 49 percent to 37 percent on its way to a 49-40 lead. Lee had 17 points in the half, while Hamilton was 1 for 10 for Detroit.

The Knicks scored the first six points of the second half to extend the margin to 15 points. The Pistons got within nine with a full-court press, but Chris Duhon answered with a 3-pointer.

New York led 79-66 going into the fourth, and by as many as 19 down the stretch.

NOTES: Charlie Villanueva (flu) was scoreless in 12 minutes, while Will Bynum (both ankles) sat out the game. ... The game would have matched Kwame Brown and Darko Milicic, two of the biggest draft busts of the decade, but Milicic was inactive for the Knicks against the team that drafted him. ... Danilo Gallinari took nine 3-point shots and just one 2-pointer.

[Associated Press]

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