out of his system now ... its an elimination fi

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The Detroit Pistons finally clamped down on defense, in plenty of time to secure their third straight win.Tobias Harris scored 25 points and Marcus Morris added 22 to lift the Pistons to a 102-89 victory over the New York Knicks on Tuesday night. Detroit closed the game with eight straight points, and the Knicks didnt score after Derrick Roses bank shot with 5:40 remaining.I thought our offense in the first half was excellent, Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said. Defensively, I thought we finished the game real well.The Pistons have won three in a row -- all by double digits -- since dropping their season opener. They held New York to 10 points in the fourth quarter.Carmelo Anthony scored 24 points for the Knicks, and Rose added 19.Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 19 points for Detroit, and Andre Drummond had nine points and 13 rebounds.Its been an encouraging start for Detroit, which has been playing without injured point guard Reggie Jackson. The Pistons shot 55 percent from the field in a smoothly played first half, and Detroit was up 64-55 after two quarters.I have been very amazed about how we move the ball, Caldwell-Pope said. Everybody is getting equal shots. Nobody is being selfish. We are being a little too unselfish, but thats good.The offenses bogged down in the second half, and the Knicks had chances to close the gap in the fourth quarter. Down 94-89, New Yorks Lance Thomas missed from the perimeter. Morris made two free throws at the other end with 3:22 remaining.A 3-pointer by Caldwell-Pope put the Pistons up by 10, and Harris added a three-point play with 1:11 left.It just didnt go down tonight, Rose said. When the shots arent falling, we have to depend on our defense even more. We have to play the type of game where if were having a hard time scoring, youre definitely going to have a hard time scoring. Thats the mentality and culture were trying to build.TIP-INSKnicks: Joakim Noah had only two points, but he contributed eight assists and 11 rebounds. ... Former Detroit G Brandon Jennings scored 12 points for the Knicks.Pistons: Detroit outscored the Knicks 50-32 in the paint. ... Harris had 10 rebounds. ... Ish Smith, starting in place of Jackson (knee), had 10 points and eight assists. ... The Pistons went 8 of 13 from 3-point range.WEARING DOWN?Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said his teams stamina may have played a role in the offensive struggles late.Were not in the kind of condition that we need to be to play offense and defense for 48 minutes, Hornacek said. It looked like we did get a little tired and thats going to affect the shooting.STICKY FINGERSThe Knicks had only three turnovers in the first half, and the Pistons had only two. That was a big reason the game was so high-scoring early. New York finished with 12 turnovers and Detroit had 11.REPLACEMENTSVan Gundy wasnt totally buying the idea that the Pistons have had no problems without Jackson. Smith and Beno Udrih were a combined 8 of 23.I think anybody in the league would tell you that were playing well, but Reggies just a really difficult guy to guard in the pick-and-roll. So we miss him, and thats taking nothing away from Ish and Beno.UP NEXTKnicks: Host Houston on Wednesday night.Pistons: Detroit heads to New York as well. The Pistons face Brooklyn on Wednesday night.---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtristerUltra Boost On Sale . -- Bobby Ryan helped the U. Cheap Ultra Boost China http://www.cheapultraboostshoes.com/ . Halifax beat the Saint John Sea Dogs 7-5 on the strength of two goals apiece from Nikolaj Ehlers, Matt Murphy and Brent Andrews. Jonathan Drouin also scored and had three assists while Zachary Fucale made 17 saves for the Mooseheads (16-8-0), who led 6-1 after two periods. Ultra Boost Discount . - NASCAR announced a 33-race schedule for the 2014 Nationwide Series with virtually no changes from this years slate. Cheap Ultra Boost .J. -- Marshawn Lynch said Thursday it will be good to get back to football after the Seattle quiet talking running back wrapped up his final mandatory media session of Super Bowl week.The AFLs much-maligned bye could prove a godsend for North Melbourne coach Brad Scott and his battered and bruised Kangaroos.Scott is confident the extra week off has freshened up his team and allowed Jarrad Waite and Scott Thompson to overcome injury in time for the AFL elimination final against Adelaide.The key duo are winning their battles with hip and adductor complaints respectively and have another three training sessions to prove their fitness to take on the Crows at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.I think theyll both be available for selection, so weve got really good options there, Scott said on Tuesday.But theyre going to be big decisions and its far too early in the week to make a definitive call either way.Weve made some calls this year that have backfired in terms of bringing guys back, but were really conscious that Waite and Thompson, in particular, have played some pretty good footy in really big games.Theyre proven big game performers so that will come into calculations.Scott said his players were feeling positive after a break, with the bye coming at the right time for his team after they limped into the finals in eighth spot on the back of four straight losses.One of the coachs key concerns is getting his forward set-up right with Waite likely to return and either Drew Petrie or Majak Daw the most likely to make way.ddddddddddddScott may have provided a clue to his thinking when asked about Petries mindset after he admitted news he wouldnt return to the club next year affected him badly in the Roos loss to Greater Western Sydney.Thats out of his system now ... its an elimination final so theres a big prize at the end of it and the losers go home, he said.Im really confident his focus will be where it needs to be.Drew is a quality finals performer, hes done the job for us in big games before. Other players look to him and when weve needed something in a big game hes stood up.Another omission would be a bitter pill for Daw to swallow and could see him look for greater playing opportunities elsewhere from next season.It would be disappointing for him but hes proven hes going to be a really exciting player for us, not just now but into the future, Scott said.But its an elimination final so we do what we need to do in the short term to get the job done.That wont necessarily count against him, but I think hes shown this year what a bright future hes got at our club. ' ' '