AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Forget the Tigers, Red Wings, Lions and even University of Michigan, Michigan State and Detroit in the NCAA tournament.
The Motor City has another team on a roll.
The Pistons led by as many as 31 points in a 105-86 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Saturday night. They've now won three games in a row, and have gone 11-6 after a brutal 4-20 start.
Incredibly, a team that looked like one of the worst in Pistons history six weeks ago is just 3 1/2 games out of the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
"Winning is all about building good habits, and that's what we are doing," coach Lawrence Frank said. "We're learning what it takes to win in this league, and we're doing it on a more consistent basis."
Although the last two victories had been nail-biters -- an overtime win against the Lakers and Friday's one-point defeat of Atlanta -- Saturday's was over in the first 12 minutes. The Pistons outscored Toronto 37-14 in the first quarter, and the game was never competitive after that.
When asked if he could find a single negative with the period, Frank came up with a quick answer.
"That it had to end," he said with a laugh.
With Andrea Bargnani and Aaron Gray starting inside for the Raptors -- two players who aren't exactly shot-blocking specialists -- the Pistons drove to the basket over and over in the early stages of the game.
"We always try to attack the rim, but we knew that they didn't have any shot blockers in the lineup, so we were extra aggressive tonight," said Rodney Stuckey, who led Detroit with 20 points.
Stuckey and Frank agreed that an even bigger key to the quarter was Detroit's defense. The Raptors shot 25 percent in the period, missing all six of their three-point attempts, and turned the ball over four more times.
"I thought our guys came out with phenomenal energy tonight," Frank said. "That got us stops, which we turned into easy baskets."
Unlike the horror show last season, where the Pistons blew a 25-point third-quarter lead in a home loss to the very same Raptors, they kept their foot on the pedal all night. Detroit led by 31 points going into the fourth, and Toronto's surge came in an extended session of garbage time.
Even that stretch had a benefit for the Pistons. Charlie Villanueva returned to the floor after missing more than two months with an ankle injury. He didn't score in his three minutes, but Frank was just happy to see him back on the floor.
"He's obviously missed significant time, so it was something to get him a few minutes tonight," Frank said. "Charlie is obviously a very good player, and he adds to what we think is already very good depth."
That depth is going to be severely tested in the next 18 days. Detroit plays its next 10 games in 10 different cities, with the only home game coming against the Miami Heat on March 23.
"I think we're ready," Stuckey said. "Obviously, it's going to be a big test for us, but we've been playing really good basketball in the last couple weeks. If we can keep that going, we're going to be OK."
The Pistons will have to be a lot better than OK to make a serious run at a playoff spot -- they have to finish 18-7 just to end the season at .500 -- but Frank isn't worried about any of that.
"We know the schedule, but we are focused on just one thing -- playing a very tough Utah team on Monday," he said. "That's how this works. The only important game is the next one."
