DETROIT _ The Sacramento Kings have won only two of their last seven games.
Both victories have come against the Detroit Pistons.
Nearly two weeks after the Kings overcame an 18-point second half deficit in topping the Pistons at Sacramento, they turned an early deficit into a 109-104 victory Monday.
DeMarcus Cousins led the way again with 22 points, 14 rebounds and six assists.
His baseline jumper with 38 seconds remaining gave the Kings (17-27) a 107-101 lead and sent fans toward the Palace exits.
Reggie Jackson scored 18 points and handed off 11 assists for the Pistons (21-25), who saw their three-game winning streak snapped.
Andre Drummond, who had heated exchanges with Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy in the first half, finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope looked rusty after missing four straight games with a sore left shoulder. He scored 14 points, but was 4-for-14 from the field and he was 1-for-8 from 3-point range.
Jon Leuer failed to score after 15 points in the first quarter.
Ty Lawson was the unsung hero for the Kings. Ish Smith and Jackson could not stay in front of him. Lawson finished with 19 points and six assists.
The Pistons continued their hot first quarters with 38 points to take a 38-28 lead into the second quarter.
But the bench unit allowed the Kings to score 16 points in the first 3 minutes of the second quarter. They tied the game at 44, forcing a Van Gundy timeout. He pulled Stanley Johnson, who has been playing well recently. He did not go back to Johnson the rest of the game.
The Pistons tried to put Leuer on Cousins, but after his hot start, was mired in foul trouble.
Van Gundy was agitated about defensive breakdowns throughout the first half, but he was really upset late in the first half when Drummond didn't move his feet and lazily attempted a steal against Cousins.
Van Gundy called time-out to reinsert Aron Baynes, whom had just left the game.
Drummond and Van Gundy had a testy exchange, and it escalated when Van Gundy walked toward the end of the bench to confront the Pistons center.
The testy exchange continued with Johnson getting from his seat to get between the two.
In a humorous note, Leuer picked up his third foul and Van Gundy had to send Drummond back into the game.
