Vince Ellis

Detroit Free Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Kings point guard Darren Collison thought he had the easy basket as cruised down the lane in the first half Saturday night.

Swat!

Detroit Pistons forward Josh Smith seeming appeared from the rafters and smacked the shot away.

It was one of five blocked shots from Smith in the 95-90 victory over the Sacramento Kings that gave the Pistons their first two-game winning streak of the season – one night after they snapped a 13-game losing streak at Phoenix – a skid that ended one game shy of tying a franchise record.

Smith added in two dunks to his 21-point, 13-rebound, five-assist night.

The drawbacks to Smith's game are well-known – seven turnovers against the Kings give you an example.

But as the Pistons try to climb out of a deep hole, the team is breathing easier with the return of routine displays of athleticism from Smith, who said last week he's been hampered my nagging injuries.

"Yeah, I am," Smith said when asked if he is feeling better. "Time is good. Bones don't feel as stiff, but just been able to get a lot of work in before the game, a lot of stretching, a lot of massages on the legs and try to open everything up to be a little looser early on in the game."

Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said he noticed the return of Smith earlier this week in practice.

"It certainly does seem that way," Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said when asked if he noticed increased liveliness from Smith. "He's certainly gotten off the floor better, looked quicker, everything else. I don't have an answer for that."

The dunks have been a rarity for the one-time slam-dunk champion. It was the first time this season he shot more than 50% from the field as he was 9-for-16.

The nagging injuries include a foot blister and leg woes.

"When the momentum starts to going during the game I don't tend to feel it, but I gotta give all my credit to (physical therapist Arnie Kander) and (strength and conditioning coach Jon Ishop). They find ways to make me feel comfortable out there on the court."

The Pistons made their stand at the beginning of the after halftime.

Trailing 46-43 at the start of the third quarter, the Pistons held the Kings scoreless the first nine possessions of the half.

The Pistons went on an 11-0 spurt during the stretch to take a 54-46 lead. The lead could have been more if the Pistons had taken care of the ball. They finished with 13 turnovers. The lead swelled to 14 points on a Greg Monroe bucket in the third quarter and the closest the Pistons were able to beat back several Kings' rallies.

The Pistons held the Kings (11-13) to 14 points in the third quarter and 35.5% shooting for the game. Rudy Gay scored 20 points, but only six after halftime and was held to 6-for-22 for the game. Van Gundy credited double-teaming the Kings' best scorer.

"The main thing was our defense. … defensively holding them to 36%, I think was good," Van Gundy said. "I think we did a really nice job on Rudy Gay, made it tough on him. He's a great, great player."

Aside from allowing 31 fast-break points Friday night at Phoenix, it's the team's best defensive stretch of the season.

"We're playing on a string," Smith said. "We're trusting in each other, we're not trying to let guys score in our paint and scrambling to three-point shooter, running them off and that's what we have to do. We have to put the hard work we been putting in practice into games."

Contact Vince Ellis at vellis@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @vincent_ellis56.