AUBURN HILLS -- Michael Curry thought consistency was the most important thing for a team to establish when he was a player, and as the coach of the Detroit Pistons he still feels that way.
His Pistons crept a little closer to consistency, and wrapped up a playoff spot by beating the New Jersey Nets 100-93 Friday at The Palace. "Finding that consistency this season has been really tough," Curry said. "We've gone through some struggles and tough times, but we are ready to take things from that and hope it helps us in the playoffs."
It helped that the Pistons shot 71 percent in the first quarter, 61 percent for the first half, led by 10 points to start the fourth quarter and never let New Jersey closer than five points down the stretch.
The win clinched the playoff spot and a winning season at home (21-19) for the 39-40 Pistons. Detroit has made the playoffs for eight consecutive years, and 32 times in franchise history.
The Pistons -- tied with Chicago for the seventh of eight spots in the Eastern Conference playoff standings, and trailing Philadelphia for sixth spot by just one game in the win column -- travel to Indianapolis to take on the Indiana Pacers tonight, and host Chicago on Monday for the final home game of the season. The regular season closes Wednesday in Miami.
"We needed this win," Detroit point guard Rodney Stuckey said. "We're trying to tune up for the playoffs."
Reserve guard Will Bynum continued his consistent play, even moving over to shooting guard for a while in the second half while Stuckey stayed in at point guard. Bynum finished with 20 points and four assists.
Rasheed Wallace finished with 15 points, and Richard Hamilton scored just 10 points, but had nine assists. Stuckey had 10 points and eight assists.
Forward Ryan Anderson topped New Jersey with 20 points. Vince Carter had just six points, but handed out 10 assists.
"We want to just keep working hard, working on the chemistry and hopefully we can be scary in the first round," Bynum said.
It didn't hurt the Pistons' chances when Devin Harris, who averaged over 25 points and almost seven assists in the three previous games against the Pistons this season, left in the second half with a sore left shoulder. He was 0-for-4 from the field in the first half and scored just one point with one assist.
The bench trio of Bynum, Jason Maxiell and Walter Herrmann sparked a big second quarter to put the Pistons up 54-38 at halftime with a 24-13 advantage in rebounds. New Jersey closed the gap to 10 points to start the fourth quarter, but never got closer than five points down the stretch.
Curry feels like his Pistons have made progress recently, and realizes the Pistons could sneak up to the sixth playoff spot with a strong finish to the season.
"Hopefully we can get the best position possible, but more important, keep playing better Basketball," he said.
