Rodney Stuckey scored 20 points, and the Detroit Pistons sent the Dallas Mavericks to their sixth consecutive loss, 103-89 on Monday.
Tayshaun Prince added 19 points and rookie Greg Monroe had 16 points and nine rebounds for Detroit, which has won three straight for the first time all season. The Pistons shot 65 percent in the second half, including a stretch of 11 straight shots without a miss in the third quarter as they turned a close game into a surprising rout.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 32 points for Dallas in his second game back from a sprained right knee. Jason Terry added 18 points, but no other Maverick was in double figures.
MICHIGAN-ROBINSON
QB Denard Robinson says he's staying at Michigan
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Record-setting quarterback Denard Robinson is staying at Michigan.
In an interview scheduled to be posted Monday on the school's website, Robinson says he thought about leaving because Rich Rodriguez was one of the few coaches who gave him a chance to play quarterback. But he decided to stay because his teammates have become family and Ann Arbor has become his home.
The first player in NCAA history to throw and run for 1,500 yards says new coach Brady Hoke is "terrific"
and adds that he's eager to learn his offense.
Rodriguez was fired Jan. 5 and Hoke was hired a week later.
Robinson's high school coach said "every school"
wanted Robinson to leave and he had heard from 10 to 15 coaches within a day of Hoke's hiring.
INDIANA-CREEK
Indiana's Creek out indefinitely with knee injury
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Indiana guard Maurice Creek will be out indefinitely because of a knee injury he suffered during a game against Michigan.
Coach Tom Crean told radio listeners Monday night Creek has a stress fracture in his right kneecap. He missed the second half of last season with a fractured left kneecap, and still had not been playing with the same explosiveness he had before the injury.
The sophomore made 13 starts and was averaging 8.3 points after scoring 16.4 points per game last season.
Creek was injured Saturday night with just under 2 minutes to go against Michigan, a game the Hoosiers won 80-61. He caught a long inbound pass, put in a layup and then crashed to the floor. A few minutes later, he limped to the bench and then re-entered the game.
BEARS-BEAT GREEN BAY
Beating Green Bay gets extra meaning for Bears
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — From the moment he was hired, Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith made it clear his goals were to beat Green Bay, win the division and win the Super Bowl.
Beating Green Bay to get to the Super Bowl? Well, that's an added bonus.
The league's oldest rivalry sure took an interesting turn when the Bears knocked off the Seattle Seahawks in their divisional playoff game Sunday.
Now, it's Chicago against Green Bay for the NFC championship at Soldier Field, and the stakes have never been higher in a series that dates back to 1921.
Smith says the first goal each season is to beat the Packers because beating a rival is "a short-term goal, something you can do immediately,"
and they're normally one of the top teams in the NFC North.
