Recap: Detroit vs. Cleveland

Auburn Hills, MI (Sports Network) - Brandon Knight had 17 points, five rebounds and five assists to lead the Detroit Pistons past the Cleveland Cavaliers, 89-79, at the Palace Of Auburn Hills.

Tayshaun Prince and Kyle Singler added 15 points apiece for the Pistons, who have won five straight at home for the first time since Nov. 29-Dec. 12, 2009.

Jason Maxiell contributed 12 points, six rebounds and five of Detroit's 13 blocks.

"I think we're definitely getting better defensively," Knight said. "I think defensively we're getting a lot more effort from different guys on our team."

Anderson Varejao paced the Cavaliers with 17 points and 18 rebounds, while Omri Casspi, Tristan Thompson and Jeremy Pargo each dropped in 10 points for Cleveland, which was held to just 33.7 percent shooting in the game en route to its second consecutive loss and sixth in its last seven games.

The Cavaliers opened the game shooting just 2-for-15 from the floor and Detroit took advantage with a 14-4 run to take control.

Casspi briefly put an end to the slump by connecting on a jumper and a 3- pointer on consecutive possessions to close Cleveland's gap to 14-9 with 5 1/2 minutes left in the first quarter, but the Cavaliers would make just three more baskets for the remainder of the first as the Pistons closed out the frame with a 16-8 run to carry a 30-17 lead into the second.

Cleveland connected on just 7-of-28 shots in the opening 12 minutes, while Detroit went 13-for-21 from the field.

Detroit continued to pile it on in the second quarter, stretching its lead up to as much as 22 points at 49-27 on back-to-back layups by Prince and Rodney Stuckey with about four minutes left in the half before taking a 56-39 advantage into the break.

The Cavaliers whittled away at their deficit in the third quarter as they outscored Detroit, 24-19, in the frame to get within 75-63 heading into the fourth, where a late 7-2 push brought Cleveland within 85-79 with 1:54 to play.

But the Cavs missed their final three shots from the field and two free throws as Prince and Knight each went 2-for-2 from the line to hold off Cleveland.

"Overall, I thought our guys competed. We played hard," Cavaliers coach Byron Scott said. "We obviously couldn't score enough points, but defensively I thought we did a heck of a job."