Thanks to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Pistons had a pretty good week.
They kicked it off at home against the Cavs, who had scored 113 and 117 points in their previous two games.
But the Pistons have been pretty good at The Palace, and they extended their home victory streak to five games with an 89-79 win over their injury-plagued division rivals.
Despite 17 points and 18 rebounds from Anderson Varejao, the Pistons controlled the game, holding the Cavaliers to 34-percent shooting for the game.
Jason Maxiell had five of the Pistons' season-high 13 blocks.
"You would never know how tall Jason Maxiell is because of how hard he plays," rookie Andre Drummond told reporters after the game. "He may be 6-5, 6-6 -- he calls himself 6-8 -- but he plays like he's 7 feet. That's what it boils down to: he plays as hard as he can every single play."
The Pistons' home winning streak came to a halt against the Golden State Warriors, 104-97.
The third quarter proved to be the Pistons' undoing. The Warriors scored 39 points in the third, including 27 points in the first eight minutes.
"A 39-point quarter is just unacceptable," coach Lawrence Frank told reporters after the loss. "We let two really good shooters get comfortable, and you saw what happened. We did too many things on both ends of the floor that were nothing that we've ever rehearsed in practice."
Curry had 22 points and 10 assists, his fourth straight game of 20 points and 10 assists.
Although the the Pistons can beat the Cavaliers, they haven't had the same success against Chicago Bulls.
For the 16th straight time, the Bulls defeated the Pistons, 108-104. But this one was particularly devastating.
The Pistons had a 17-point lead in the second quarter but couldn't hold it. Joakim Noah's 30 points and 23 rebounds, both career highs, made sure of that.
"Noah had a double-double in both halves," Frank told reporters after the game. "That's just flat-out effort. He had 30 points and 23 rebounds, and they didn't run a single play for him."
After losing at home against the Bulls, the Pistons took out their frustrations against the Cavaliers for the second time in a week, winning 104-97. In the process, the Pistons got a rare road victory, only their second in 12 tries.
Brandon Knight had a career-high 30 points, 23 coming in the second half. Knight's previous high was 28, also against Cleveland.
"It was just me taking more advantage of the shots I did have," Knight told reporters in Cleveland. "They did a great job contesting my shots in the first half -- not that they didn't in the second -- but I was more aggressive doing my job."
LAST WEEK
Dec. 3: PISTONS 89, Cleveland Cavaliers 79. It was a block party at the Palace as the Pistons blocked 13 shots, the most since blocking 13 on April 15, 2007. Drummond had three of the 13. Knight led the way with 17 points.
Dec. 5: Golden State Warriors 104, PISTONS 97. The Pistons guards were the culprits in this one as the Warriors' Klay Thompson (27 points) and Stephen Curry (22) outscored Brandon Knight and Kyle Singler 49-7.
Dec. 7: Chicago Bulls 108, PISTONS 104. Former Piston Rip Hamilton didn't even play because of torn plantar fascia in his left foot. But the Bulls didn't need him as all five starters scored in double figures. Noah had 23 rebounds, just five fewer than the entire Pistons' team.
Dec. 8: PISTONS 104, Cavaliers 97. The Pistons outscored the Cavaliers 55-45 in the second half, which helped them beat Cleveland for the second time in six days. Of course, the Cavaliers were still without Kyrie Irving (left index finger fracture) and Dion Walters (left ankle sprain).
WHO'S HOT
Knight: The Pistons' second-year point guard averaged 18 points in the four games, including just four points against the Warriors.
Tayshaun Prince: He was a steady scoring force all week, scoring double figures in every game: 15 against the Cavaliers, a team-high 24 against the Warriors, 13 against the Bulls and 14 against the Cavs.
WHO'S NOT
Kyle Singler: The rookie had 15 points in the first game against the Cavs, but wasn't able to reach that level the other three games, scoring three, two and nine points in the other three games.
Will Bynum/Jonas Jerebko: Bynum and Jerebko have fallen out of the playing rotation, both earning four DNP-Coach's Decisions this past week.
THIS WEEK
Monday: at the Philadelphia 76ers, 7 p.m. The Pistons won their first road game of the season in Philadelphia and would love to make it two in a row in the City of Brotherly Love. Jrue Holiday leads the Sixers with 17.6 points per game.
Tuesday: vs. the Denver Nuggets at the Palace, 7:30 p.m. The Nuggets have been good at home (5-1) but not so much on the road, going 5-10 so far. The Pistons will have to try to keep Kenneth Faried off the boards as he's averaging 10 rebounds a game.
Friday: at the Brooklyn Nets, 7:30 p.m. The Nets have been very good against Eastern Conference foes, going 8-3. It would behoove the Pistons to try to keep the ball out of Deron Williams' hands as much as possible as he is averaging 8.7 assists per game.
Saturday: vs. the Indiana Pacers at the Palace, 7:30 p.m. The Pacers have dropped their last two games, to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Nuggets. The Pacers are missing forward Danny Granger, who isn't expected back until February with a left knee injury.
