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/noahtrister Clearance Superstar Ireland . The Barrie Colts defenceman, who impressed many with his play for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship, is the top-ranked skater in the February rankings. He has 19 goals and 24 assists for 43 points in 45 games with the Colts this season. Discount Superstar Ireland Online . Goals from Jerome Boateng, Franck Ribery and Thomas Mueller extended Bayerns unbeaten run to a record 37 matches. "This record is incredible," Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said. http://www.wholesalesuperstarireland.com/ . Note: The Calgary Flames announced Tuesday that Sean Monahan would not be made available to Canadas World Junior team. Superstar Ireland Sale . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. Adidas Superstar Ireland . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. Trainer John OShea has stopped short of comparing Rosehill debut winner Veranillo to Astern, but says like his stablemare he stands out on type.The colt lived up to his $3.40 favouritism on Saturday with a professional display in the Two-Year-Old Handicap beating Groundbreak ($7) by a length.He covered the 1100m in 1min 05.66, a time reflecting the soft track.He is a lovely colt and on type hes one weve liked all along, OShea said.Astern stood out and this one did too.Hell have a break and come back in the autumn and follow a traditional path in the two-year-old races.Astern won his debut before Christmas last yeear and came back to win the Silver Slipper Stakes for Godolphin in February.dddddddddddde didnt have the best of runs in the Golden Slipper but came back in the spring to get a Group One win in Golden Rose.Like Astern, Veranillo is home bred for Sheikh Mohammed by Darley stallion Medaglia DOro.Jockey Brenton Avdulla said it was a professional win although Veranillo still had a bit to learn.He probably got there a bit too soon and was looking everywhere but it was a nice win, he said. 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