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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Jerry Stackhouse's eyes lit up the
moment he saw the opening. Bringing the ball far back behind his
head, he unleashed a ferocious windmill dunk that brought his
teammates bounding off the bench in admiration.
That dunk was one of five by Stackhouse in the second quarter
Sunday as the Detroit Pistons pounded the New Jersey Nets 113-92 to
avoid falling into eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
|  | | Jerry Stackhouse, who scored a game-high 34 points, drives against the Nets' Stephon Marbury. |
"I even got excited on that play," Stackhouse said of his
first dunk. "I couldn't even go up there and get the free throw to
finish the three-point play."
Stackhouse scored 34 and Grant Hill added 32 as the Pistons ran
the floor with determination and scored almost at will in
transition against a Nets team that played at half-speed. Hill also
had 12 rebounds and eight assists, barely missing his 30th career
triple-double.
Stackhouse's five-dunk outburst in the second quarter came as
the Pistons were building a double-digit lead they never
surrendered.
"A couple plays earlier I was able to get out for some layups,
and whenever you do that then you can be a little more creative the
next time down you get an opening," Stackhouse said.
Creative Stackhouse was, doing something fancy and different on
each of the slams in what he said was his first five-dunk quarter
in two years.
"When he goes to the basket, you never know. He'll surprise
you," teammate Lindsey Hunter said. "He catches a lot of people
off-guard because some of the dunks he makes it's like 'How did he
do that?' He caught a lot of people like that today."
Detroit (37-35) snapped a two-game losing streak and moved a
half-game ahead of eighth-place Orlando (37-36) in the conference.
Johnny Newman had 22 points for the Nets, whose already slim
playoff hopes took a huge hit Friday night when they lost at
Orlando to fall 5½ games behind the Magic.
"They're dead, or they look dead," said Detroit's Eric
Montross, an ex-Net who still has acquaintances on the team. "I
don't mean this the wrong way, but there were definitely times,
maybe when we were up 20, when it looked like they had no real
desire to be out there."
Hill had two-3-pointers and numerous drives to the basket in
reaching the 30-point mark for the 26th time this season.
Stackhouse topped the 30-point mark for the 15th time.
The Nets kept it close for a little over 12 minutes, falling
behind for good on a 22-foot jumper by Jud Buechler with 38 seconds
left in the first quarter.
Stackhouse scored the final two baskets of the second quarter on
dunks, helping the Pistons to a 60-47 halftime lead. Stackhouse had
14 points in the period.
Hill and Stackhouse had back-to-back 3-pointers midway through
the third quarter for an 82-59 lead, and Stackhouse followed with
two foul shots, increasing the lead to 25. The Nets never
threatened in the fourth.
"Someone asked me before the game if two tough losses at home
would have a lingering effect on the team, and obviously it
didn't," coach Detroit George Irvine said. "We showed a lot of
character."
Game notes
Stephon Marbury, slowed by tendinitis in his left knee, had
only 10 points. He scored 35 and 34 points in New Jersey's first
two games against Detroit. ... The Pistons are 9-5 under interim
coach Irvine. ... After shooting only 37 percent and averaging 14.5 points last season, Stackhouse's numbers have improved to 43 percent and 23.8 points per game. ... The computer that keeps track of the statistics was not working, and someone handed Irvine a handwritten boxscore after the game. "Where are we, Arkansas?" he said.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Detroit Clubhouse
New Jersey Clubhouse
RECAPS
Detroit 113
New Jersey 92
Phoenix 87
Minnesota 86
Sacramento 117
Philadelphia 95
Indiana 104
Toronto 83
LA Lakers 106
New York 82
Miami 88
San Antonio 84
Chicago 83
Cleveland 74
Milwaukee 117
Golden State 113
Portland 95
Seattle 82
Dallas 100
Vancouver 86
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