Grizzlies win fourth straight, thrashing Pistons
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Tayshaun Prince had a memorable return to the place he called home for more than a decade. His former team was eager to forget just about everything that took place on Tuesday.
Prince, the longtime Detroit Pistons forward who was traded to Memphis on Jan. 30, had just four points and three rebounds in his first game at The Palace as a visiting player. His teammates didn't need a big contribution from their starting small forward, as the Grizzlies stretched their winning streak to four games by trouncing the Pistons 105-91.
"It's one of those experiences where it's a once-in-a-lifetime type of deal," said Prince, who drafted by the Pistons in 2002 and played more than 10 seasons with them until he was dealt in a three-team swap. "Obviously, you want to play as best as possible when you play against your old team for the first time. I missed a couple of easy ones and didn't get in a good rhythm in the game. But it was a wonderful experience to come back and play, see some familiar faces and have an opportunity to talk to them a little bit."
Mike Conley scored 19 points, Zach Randolph contributed 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Ed Davis added 14 points for Memphis (34-18), which trailed by 11 early but took command during the second quarter. The Grizzlies shot 56.3 percent from the field and forced 17 turnovers.
That's the way things went for Prince in this building earlier in his Detroit career, when it made six straight trips to the Eastern Conference Finals. Prince, who received a warm ovation from the crowd of 13,481 during player introductions, has been rejuvenated by playing with a Western Conference contender after four straight losing seasons with the Pistons.
"What they did for me and my family, I don't hold any grudges whatsoever," he said. "It was a great time. You never want to end on a bad note. Nobody wants to do that. It was definitely unfortunate but I love all those guys. I have great relationships with everybody. It's a situation where it was time for me to start a new chapter."
Jonas Jerebko and Brandon Knight had 13 points apiece for the Pistons (21-34), who had won three of their last four prior to the All-Star break.
Pistons center Greg Monroe saw his streak of eight straight double-doubles snapped as he managed just nine points and six rebounds. The last Piston with a longer double-double streak was Grant Hill, who had 10 straight in March 1996.
The Grizzlies finished the first half on a 23-3 run to grab a 53-42 halftime lead.
"The game changed in the second quarter," Detroit coach Lawrence Frank said. "Turnovers, not moving the ball and defensively giving up easy paint scores. Once we lost the lead, they totally became the instigators and aggressors."
Memphis' bench provided a big boost, outscoring Detroit's reserves 23-7 before halftime, with Quincy Pondexter contributing eight of those points. The Pistons shot 1-for-9 from the field and committed seven turnovers in the last eight minutes of the half.
"It was a tough game for us, especially with the start we had," Monroe said. "We just lost the intensity we were playing with, the focus. They are an inside-out team and we knew we had to limit their second-chance points, whether it was turnovers or offensive rebounds. We didn't do a good job of that."
Frank was forced to call timeout with 8:02 left in the third quarter after transition baskets by Prince and Conley gave Memphis a 65-47 lead. The break failed to change the momentum, as the Grizzlies soon went on a 13-0 run to make it 78-51. Conley had a three-point play and 3-point basket during that outburst.
From there, the only question was the margin of the Grizzlies' victory.
"When we have him and JB (Jerryd Bayless) in the game together with Tayshaun handling the ball more, he seems to get more open shots," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said of Conley. "When you're the facilitator, it's hard to get a lot of shots unless you're just coming off (screens) and shooting. When you're away from the ball and the ball comes to you, there's more opportunities."
NOTES: The Grizzlies play 31 games in the final 58 days of the season, including Tuesday's game, while the Pistons play 28. ... Entering play Tuesday, Detroit forward Charlie Villanueva had made 69 3-pointers since Nov. 25, third most among NBA reserves behind Orlando's J.J. Redick (73) and New York's Steve Novak (71). Villanueva went 0-for-5 from 3-point range against the Grizzlies, and he scored two points. ... Memphis has won 48 of its last 69 regular-season games. ... The Grizzlies are 17-0 when reaching the 100-point mark.
