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AUBURN HILLS, Michigan (Ticker) -- Not even a return to thecity where he had his biggest successes could help embattled NewYork Knicks coach Isiah Thomas.
Chauncey Billups had a season-high 25 points and 15 assists andAntonio McDyess added 20 points as the Detroit Pistons sentThomas and the Knicks to their eighth straight loss, 98-86, atthe Palace of Auburn Hills on Wednesday night.
Richard Hamilton collected 12 points and eight assists for thePistons, who ran out to a 13-point lead after the first quarterand never trailed again.
"Chauncey was great tonight," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said."He was working on a 40-assist game there after the firstquarter, he had 10 assists. He was unbelievable in everythinghe did. I thought he did some nice things defensively, got somenice steals, was really active."
A two-time NBA champion with the Pistons, Thomas responded tothe poor opening quarter by benching all five Knicks starters atthe outset of the second period. New York allowed Detroit toshoot 68 percent from the field in the first 12 minutes en routeto the Pistons' 36-23 advantage.
"They looked like they didn't want to compete," Pistons guardFlip Murray said. "They were just out there. All you had to dowas look at their body language I don't know what's going onover there, but they've got a lot of issues."
Thomas responded to the sluggish defensive effort by putting inreserves Nate Robinson, Fred Jones, David Lee, Jared Jeffriesand Malik Rose.
"I think we are thinking too much out there," Knicks guard JamalCrawford said. "We need to just play and win a game."
But despite an initial boost, it did not put an end to the slidefor New York, which has lost eight in a row - mostly inembarrassing fashion - since starting the season 2-1.
"We've lost all these games - eight in a row - and that'stough," Knicks forward Zach Randolph said. "We have to rememberthat we're a team, and we've got to stick together. That's theonly way we can end this."
Most of the blame has fallen on Thomas, who endured a sold-outcrowd at Madison Square chanting for his termination duringTuesday's loss to the Golden State Warriors.
"We've just got to win a basketball game some way, but wehaven't given ourselves a chance since Sacramento," Thomas said.
It all comes on the heels of the coach's feud with star pointguard Stephon Marbury, who skipped a practice and a game lastweek after Thomas informed him that he would be moved to thebench.
Marbury started in this one but was outplayed by Billups, whoshot 7-of-13 from the field, including 3-of-6 from the arc.Marbury scored just eight points on 3-of-9 shooting in 28minutes.
"We wanted to come out and get back on track, especially athome, against a team that had a game last night, we knew they'dprobably be a little tired," Billups said. "They're a littlebeat-down, mentally, that team is. We wanted to come out andattack and be aggressive."
Detroit forward Rasheed Wallace sat out the second half with asore left knee after netting eight points on 3-of-7 shooting in15 minutes before halftime.
"Just normal basketball stuff, banging knees, nothing major,"said Wallace, who might have an MRI in the next few days. "Overtime it started bothering me. I tried to play through it, butit doesn't bother me too frequently."
Eddy Curry collected 26 points and just five rebounds for theKnicks.
Chauncey Billups had a season-high 25 points and 15 assists andAntonio McDyess added 20 points as the Detroit Pistons sentThomas and the Knicks to their eighth straight loss, 98-86, atthe Palace of Auburn Hills on Wednesday night.
Richard Hamilton collected 12 points and eight assists for thePistons, who ran out to a 13-point lead after the first quarterand never trailed again.
"Chauncey was great tonight," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said."He was working on a 40-assist game there after the firstquarter, he had 10 assists. He was unbelievable in everythinghe did. I thought he did some nice things defensively, got somenice steals, was really active."
A two-time NBA champion with the Pistons, Thomas responded tothe poor opening quarter by benching all five Knicks starters atthe outset of the second period. New York allowed Detroit toshoot 68 percent from the field in the first 12 minutes en routeto the Pistons' 36-23 advantage.
"They looked like they didn't want to compete," Pistons guardFlip Murray said. "They were just out there. All you had to dowas look at their body language I don't know what's going onover there, but they've got a lot of issues."
Thomas responded to the sluggish defensive effort by putting inreserves Nate Robinson, Fred Jones, David Lee, Jared Jeffriesand Malik Rose.
"I think we are thinking too much out there," Knicks guard JamalCrawford said. "We need to just play and win a game."
But despite an initial boost, it did not put an end to the slidefor New York, which has lost eight in a row - mostly inembarrassing fashion - since starting the season 2-1.
"We've lost all these games - eight in a row - and that'stough," Knicks forward Zach Randolph said. "We have to rememberthat we're a team, and we've got to stick together. That's theonly way we can end this."
Most of the blame has fallen on Thomas, who endured a sold-outcrowd at Madison Square chanting for his termination duringTuesday's loss to the Golden State Warriors.
"We've just got to win a basketball game some way, but wehaven't given ourselves a chance since Sacramento," Thomas said.
It all comes on the heels of the coach's feud with star pointguard Stephon Marbury, who skipped a practice and a game lastweek after Thomas informed him that he would be moved to thebench.
Marbury started in this one but was outplayed by Billups, whoshot 7-of-13 from the field, including 3-of-6 from the arc.Marbury scored just eight points on 3-of-9 shooting in 28minutes.
"We wanted to come out and get back on track, especially athome, against a team that had a game last night, we knew they'dprobably be a little tired," Billups said. "They're a littlebeat-down, mentally, that team is. We wanted to come out andattack and be aggressive."
Detroit forward Rasheed Wallace sat out the second half with asore left knee after netting eight points on 3-of-7 shooting in15 minutes before halftime.
"Just normal basketball stuff, banging knees, nothing major,"said Wallace, who might have an MRI in the next few days. "Overtime it started bothering me. I tried to play through it, butit doesn't bother me too frequently."
Eddy Curry collected 26 points and just five rebounds for theKnicks.
