Saturday, January 12, 2013
Sports News

Monroe, Knight lead the Pistons past Bucks 103-87

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[January 12, 2013]  MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Greg Monroe had 26 points and 11 rebounds, Brandon Knight added 20 points and the Detroit Pistons beat Milwaukee 103-87 on Friday night to hand interim coach Jim Boylan his first loss with the Bucks.

Detroit led 74-60 going into the fourth quarter and squashed any hope of a Bucks comeback when Monroe scored on a hook shot, layup and dunk and Knight added a 3-pointer as the lead grew to 83-62 with 9:57 to play.

Rodney Stuckey's 3 gave the Pistons another 21-point lead with 2:48 to go, and the Bucks didn't get closer than 14 again.

Brandon Jennings and Beno Udrih each had 15 points for Milwaukee.

On Monday, the Bucks and coach Scott Skiles mutually decided to part ways. Boylan, a longtime NBA assistant who had been with Skiles in Phoenix and Chicago, took over and won his first game in charge Tuesday when the Bucks beat Phoenix 108-99.

Then, after trailing by 15, Milwaukee rallied to win 104-96 at Chicago on Wednesday.

The Pistons improved to 4-14 on the road and snapped a three-game losing streak in Milwaukee.

Rookie big man Andre Drummond, who had 11 rebounds for Detroit, has at least 10 boards in six of his last seven games.

Detroit hadn't played since Sunday when the Charlotte Bobcats' 108-101 victory snapped its four-game winning streak.

The Pistons had been allowing 100.1 points per game on the road. Milwaukee helped out by shooting 39.6 percent.

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Knight and Monroe keyed a third-quarter attack that had the Pistons dominating the Bucks. Detroit outscored Milwaukee 33-11 in the quarter and led by 14 entering the fourth.

The Pistons erased a 49-41 halftime deficit with a 23-5 run and took a 64-54 lead on Knight's three free throws. Jennings was called for a foul on Knight and picked up a technical arguing the call. Knight made the technical and then the two free throws. He led the comeback with 10 points and Monroe added eight.

The Bucks' bench provided most of the energy during a 14-0 spurt midway through the second quarter. Ersan Ilyasova's baseline layup capped the surge and gave Milwaukee a 42-31 lead. Udrih keyed the attack, scoring seven points while John Henson added four.

Udrih's falling-down jumper in traffic gave Milwaukee a 49-39 margin. Knight's floater just before the half ended made it 49-41.

NOTES: Milwaukee C Larry Sanders has blocked at least one shot in 22 consecutive games. ... Both teams shot poorly in the first quarter. The Bucks were 8 of 22 from the floor while Detroit was 9 of 22. ... Detroit's Tayshaun Prince is one of seven active NBA players who have spent 10-plus consecutive seasons with the same team. ... Boylan previously replaced Skiles as Bulls coach at midseason in 2007-08, but was fired at the end of that season after guiding Chicago to a 24-32 record.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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