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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Detroit coach George Irvine could see it
as soon as the game began -- big, heavy players with big, heavy
legs.
|  | | Jerry Stackhouse had his long-distance stroke going, hitting on six of eight 3-point shots. |
His players didn't miss it either, attacking a tired Charlotte
Hornets team from the outset Friday night on the way to a 97-82
victory.
"You could tell they were tired from playing last night. They
looked like they had heavy legs," Irvine said. "We jumped on them
early and they couldn't recover."
Jerry Stackhouse scored 23 points and made six 3-pointers as the
Pistons won their fourth straight.
John Crotty added 14 points and Grant Hill 13 for the Pistons,
who are in seventh place in the Eastern Conference -- four games
ahead of ninth-place Milwaukee with seven games left.
Charlotte could have clinched a playoff berth with a victory,
but instead lost its second game in as many nights after winning
seven straight.
Stackhouse said defense, not his shooting, was the key to the
win.
"I had a lot of open shots and was able to knock them down,"
he said. "We tried to give help on their big guys and make them
kick out. We rotated well on their shooters and were able to get
hands up in their faces."
Baron Davis led Charlotte with 14 points, as aggressive defense
by Stackhouse and Hill limited leading scorer Eddie Jones to six
points. Derrick Coleman recorded 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Detroit opened a 49-32 lead thanks to a 13-2 second quarter run.
Stackhouse hit three 3-pointers in a 51-second span, the last with
3:48 left in the half, and the Pistons led 56-36 on Crotty's layup
with 1:33 left.
Charlotte failed to score from the field in the final five
minutes of the second quarter.
Charlotte coach Paul Silas had a hard time finding any silver
linings in the game.
"At this time of the season, we should be picking it up and
we're not. That's a concern to me," Silas said. "This team hasn't
been together for a full year and not many guys have faced this
situation before. I thought we had started to jell and found
ourselves. Apparently not."
Jones, though, said the Hornets would do well just to forget
this game and Thursday night's 76-70 loss to Miami in which
Charlotte tied a season-low in points.
"We don't need to worry about bouncing back. We just have to
put all the negative things out of our heads," he said.
The Pistons' lead grew to 71-47 after a pair of free throws from
Hill with 6:49 left in the third quarter. Charlotte trimmed the
lead to 77-61 on Robinson's baseline jumper with 1:32 left but
could get no closer, and the Hornets trailed 82-63 entering the
final period.
The Hornets' reserves narrowed Detroit's lead in the fourth
quarter, but the victory was never in doubt.
Stackhouse went 5-of-6 from 3-point range in the first half.
Game notes
Stackhouse has scored in double figures 14 of the 16 times
he has faced the Hornets... Before Friday's loss, the Hornets had
won nine of their last 11 against the Pistons. ... Detroit hadn't
won in Charlotte since Feb. 14, 1997.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Detroit Clubhouse
Charlotte Clubhouse
RECAPS
Philadelphia 102
Boston 97
Toronto 104
Atlanta 84
Detroit 97
Charlotte 82
Miami 103
New Jersey 85
Indiana 95
Cleveland 94
New York 96
Orlando 89
Houston 119
Seattle 116
Utah 105
Golden State 84
Minnesota 95
Sacramento 92
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