AUBURN HILLS -- Ten years ago, Joe Dumars built a championship roster out of players that other teams didn't want -- guys that had something to prove to the rest of the NBA.
Tuesday, the New York Knicks proved once again why Dumars used that plan.
The Knicks rolled into the Palace with a roster filled with All-Stars and proceeded to play about 10 good minutes in a 92-86 loss to another scrappy Dumars roster.
"We were stagnant on offense, we didn't move the ball, and we didn't have good spacing," said a frustrated Amar'e Stoudemire, who had six points and five rebounds in 15 minutes. "If you don't do any of that, you are going to be taking tough shots every time on every possession, and you aren't going to make very many of them.
"We played fine defensively, but we aren't getting the scoring we should be getting with these players."
Both teams came into the game with 3-6 records, but entirely different outlooks. The Pistons are about the team that people expected -- they used nine players in the game and only four of them were on last year's roster. Like the Knicks, they often struggle with spacing on offense, but that's not a surprise as Dumars is in the first year of a radical overhaul of the roster.
The Knicks are paying big money to guys like Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin, J.R. Smith, Metta World Peace and rookie Tim Hardaway Jr., and their fanbase isn't likely to show much patience with a terrible start to the season.
"We're just not getting the job done," said Anthony, who shot 3-of-12 in the first half. "I'm a leader on this team, and I've got to make sure we play the way we are supposed to play. Our offense has to be better than this, and some of that is on me."
Martin, though, wasn't going to let Anthony shoulder the blame.
"It's not on Carmelo," he said. "He's a big part of this offense, but we are all to blame for this. There's no way that anyone should say this is because of him."
While the Knicks were pointing at their offensive woes as the reason they lost, it was their defense that let Detroit take control of the game in the third quarter. Detroit shot 69 percent from the floor in the period, allowing them to score 28 points despite seven turnovers.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Josh Smith did damage early in the period, combining for 13 points, but it was Rodney Stuckey who broke the game open with eight points in the last five minutes of the third.
Stuckey, who played a lot of point guard as Brandon Jennings tried to play through a stomach bug, finished with 15 points in the second half and 21 for the game.
"Stuckey did a nice job," Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks said. "He played some point guard for us in Sacramento, and obviously he was the point guard here for a couple years, so he clearly knows how to do it.
"We put the ball in his hands and he was able to make plays for us. Even when he wasn't running the point, we got the ball into his hands."
Jennings turned himself into a passer when he was on the floor, picking up seven assists while only shooting three times, but Detroit's other four starters all joined Stuckey with double-figure scoring.
"We start the game by going inside and out, and we find things that work," said Andre Drummond, who picked up his fifth straight double-double. "Once we find something, we keep going to it until it stops."
Against the Knicks, who lost most of their interior defense when Tyson Chandler broke his leg, what worked was pounding the ball inside to Drummond, Greg Monroe and Josh Smith. The Pistons hit 63 percent of their inside shots, allowing them to finish over 50 percent overall despite a poor night from the outside.
"There's no reason we can't do that each and every night," Smith said. "That is what we need to hold people to -- what we did tonight. Hopefully, we're turning the corner."
The Pistons were also pleased that they held Anthony and the Knicks under 90 points, considering they had come into the game ranked last in the league in defense.
"I think we're starting to come together," Drummond said. "We're finding the spots where we need to be in order to perform, and we're getting back when we help someone out."
NO ANNIVERSARY PARTY
Tuesday was the ninth anniversary of the most infamous moment in Palace history -- the night that World Peace (then known as Ron Artest) and Stephen Jackson went into the crowd to brawl with angry fans.
World Peace, though, wasn't even in the building this time. He's sidelined by a sore knee, and did not make the trip after his sister's funeral on Monday. Chauncey Billups, the only Pistons player who was on the roster on Nov. 19, 2004, also sat out with a knee problem.
WELCOME BACK, JUNIOR
Tim Hardaway, Jr. got a nice ovation from the Palace crowd when he checked into the game -- his first at the Palace since Michigan beat South Dakota State and VCU in their first two NCAA tournament games in March.
Hardaway didn't score in 11 minutes and ended up losing again to Pistons rookie Peyton Siva, who helped Louisville beat the Wolverines in the national championship game.
Siva played 11 minutes in place of the ailing Jennings, and also didn't score.
