AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The Detroit Pistons found a solution to their problems.
The Charlotte Bobcats.
One night after a hideous performance in a 29-point loss to Philadelphia, the Pistons got better in a hurry against the worst NBA team in recent memory.
Greg Monroe had 19 points and a career-high 20 rebounds as Detroit cruised to a 109-94 victory at The Palace.
"We definitely needed this after what happened last night," Monroe said. "We needed to get a win on our home floor and build some momentum."
Monroe didn't want to get carried away by a victory over a team that has lost 19 of 20 games, but knows it's important for Rodney Stuckey, Brandon Knight and himself to get back on the same page.
Stuckey had 29 points, and Knight finished with 20 points and five assists without a turnover.
"When Rodney is playing like that, we are a different team," Monroe said. "Those two really get our offense clicking. We weren't doing that last night."
Lawrence Frank thought the Pistons benefited from Knight and Stuckey attacking the basket.
"When Brandon is playing north-to-south and attacking the rim, it is vital for us," Frank said. "When he and Rodney are both doing that, it means Greg is going to get rebounds and he's going to get some easy shots."
Of course, it also helped that the Pistons played hard -- something they hadn't done against the 76ers.
"I think we clearly invested more in tonight's game than we did last night," Frank said. "We all knew what happened last night, but we put that behind us and we made progress tonight. That's the important thing for us right now."
In the opening moments of the game, it appeared that Charlotte rookie Bismack Biyombo might give the Bobcats a shot at an upset. Biyombo easily won the tip from Monroe, scored to give Charlotte a 2-0 lead, then blocked Monroe's shot on Detroit's first possession.
Biyombo couldn't keep up that pace -- Wilt Chamberlain would have had a tough time -- but the Bobcats were leading 16-15 when he came out of the game after picking up his second foul.
Unfortunately for the Bobcats, Biyombo strained his shoulder on the play and missed the remainder of the game.
"Bismack was the one that was playing tough and rebounding for us and blocking shots," Charlotte coach Paul Silas said. "Those were all things we needed, and when we lost him, it was hard to make it up."
With Biyombo on the sideline -- he is expected to have an MRI on Thursday -- the Pistons were able to run riot inside. Detroit finished with a 55-37 rebounding edge, and had a 23-7 edge on points in the paint.
"He's definitely a big part of their defense and rebounding," Monroe said. "I would say it would have probably have been a little different with him."
The Pistons play only once in the next five days -- Saturday at Memphis -- before returning home to face the Lakers on Tuesday.
