Knicks Top Pistons 125-116 In Double Overtime
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) Amare Stoudemire had 37 points and 15 rebounds to help the New York Knicks beat the Detroit Pistons 125-116 in double overtime Sunday.
Raymond Felton added 23 points and 11 assists for the Knicks, while Tayshaun Prince led the Pistons with 31 points, including 21 in the fourth quarter and overtime. Rodney Stuckey scored 29 points for Detroit.
Danilo Gallinari hit back-to-back 3-pointers to start the second overtime, giving the Knicks a 115-109 lead, and Wilson Chandler made it a nine-point game with another 3 on the next possession.
Prince tied it at 99 at the end of regulation and then made a three-point play to knot it at 109-all in the first overtime.
The Knicks were playing their second afternoon game in as many days, while the Pistons last played at home on Friday, but it was New York that looked stronger at the finish Sunday.
With Ronny Turiaf (knee) sidelined, Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni went with a small lineup, putting in Michigan native Chandler. Turiaf's absence and two overtimes meant that four Knicks starters played at least 50 minutes.
Jason Maxiell started for Detroit at power forward, but when he struggled against New York's pace, Pistons coach John Kuester went with Tracy McGrady at the beginning of the second half. McGrady played small forward with Prince moving to power forward.
Neither team took control through the first three quarters, with the biggest lead only eight points.
Detroit led 78-75 after three quarters, but Felton hit two 3-pointers to give the Knicks an 92-86 lead midway through the fourth.
The Pistons got the margin back to two, but back-to-back dunks by Stoudemire and Chandler made it 97-91 with 3 minutes to go.
Detroit rallied to tie the game at 97 when Richard Hamilton made two free throws with 40 seconds left.
Stoudemire answered with two free throws to put New York ahead 99-97, but Prince's 17-foot jumper tied it again. The Knicks set up a final play, but Gallinari missed a long 3-pointer over Prince at the end of regulation.
Prince's jumper put the Pistons up 106-105 in the first extra session, but Stoudemire answered with a layup. After a Pistons miss, the Knicks got three shots on their next possession, with Felton tipping in his own miss to give the Knicks a 109-106 lead with 20.2 seconds left.
Prince answered with a three-point play and Chandler missed at the buzzer to force the second overtime.
NOTES: In another attempt to match the Knicks' up-tempo style, Kuester put Austin Daye into the game in the third quarter. Daye had barely played in recent games after starting 11 of Detroit's first 12 contests. ... Detroit hit its first 18 free throws before Rodney Stuckey missed in the fourth quarter. ... Stoudemire (54) and Landry Fields (51) both had career highs in minutes, while Gallinari and Felton also broke 50. Stuckey and Prince led the Pistons with 43 each.
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