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AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Samuel Dalembert had more offensive rebounds than Andre Drummond, Greg Monroe and Josh Smith combined. That was probably the most telling stat from Saturdays game, which Dalemberts Dallas Mavericks won 113-102 over a Detroit team hurt throughout the night by Drummonds foul trouble. Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points and Vince Carter added 18 for Dallas. "If youre able to get them in foul trouble early, they kind of slow things down a little bit and become less aggressive," Dalembert said. "We knew what we were getting into, and we were ready for the fight." Dallas had surprising success on the boards against Detroits imposing front line. The Mavericks finished with 16 offensive rebounds. The Pistons, who came in as the NBAs top team in that department, had only nine. Drummond finished with only eight points and three rebounds in just under 20 minutes of action. "When you get in foul trouble, it changes your aggression, but it also keeps you from ever getting in the flow of the game," Detroit interim coach John Loyer said. "Andre is a guy who is normally always into the flow, but he wasnt able to do that tonight, whether because of the fouls or something else. I know hell be in the gym tomorrow making sure it doesnt happen again." Smith kept the Pistons in the game for a while and finished with 32 points, his most since signing with Detroit last off-season. Monta Ellis had 12 points and 13 assists for the Mavericks. Dallas leads ninth-place Memphis by two games in the Western Conference playoff race. The Pistons, meanwhile, fell 3 1/2 games behind Atlanta for the final playoff spot in the East. Dallas led by 13 in the third quarter, and after the Pistons closed within four in the fourth, Nowitzki connected from beyond the arc to give the Mavericks a 96-89 lead. Dallas was able to keep Detroit at arms length after that. "We did a pretty good job of not letting them get too much momentum," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "When you let them get momentum and get in transition they convert quick, they can hit 3s, they throw lobs, and then it turns into a circus." The Pistons did have 24 fast-break points, but they went 2 of 11 from 3-point range. Detroits Brandon Jennings had only two points and three assists on 1-of-7 shooting, and for a second straight night, the Pistons went mostly with Will Bynum at point guard with the game on the line. Bynum had 17 points and eight assists. "We played a tough team tonight, and they beat us," Bynum said. "We had the energy in spurts tonight, but weve got to have that for 48 minutes and we arent doing that." Ellis scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, and the Mavericks benefited from Drummonds absence throughout the game. Greg Monroe had 17 points and 17 rebounds for the Pistons, but he had little help on the boards. Smith, for all his scoring, finished with only three rebounds, and he didnt score a point in the final period. Dallas had six players in double figures. Dalembert had 12 points and 11 rebounds -- six at the offensive end. Jose Calderon added 11 points and Shawn Marion scored 10. The Mavericks had 31 assists, one night after reaching a season-high 39 in a win at Philadelphia. Ellis had 11 assists in the first half against the Pistons, and Dallas led 64-54 at halftime. Smith -- who had 24 points on 11-of-13 shooting in the half -- kept Detroit from a bigger deficit. The Pistons were only down 39-36 when Drummond picked up his third foul with 9:03 left in the second quarter. The Mavericks slowly extended the margin after that. NOTES: Dallas improved to 17-8 against the East this season. ... Carter appeared to be hit in the midsection in the first quarter and grimaced as he came up the court. Then he took a pass and immediately spotted up for a 3-pointer that gave Dallas a 29-25 lead. Blake Comeau Jersey . He learned about pressure and expectations at the 2010 Games in his hometown of Vancouver. His next mission is to build on that experience at his next Olympic appearance in Sochi, where he plans to ride the momentum from the teams strong start to the season. Mattias Janmark Stars Jersey . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer. http://www.thedallasstarshockey.com/jon-...ockey-jersey/.J. -- Freshman Eli Carter scored a career-high 31 points and hit the go-ahead basket in the second overtime as Rutgers rallied to stun No. Jason Dickinson Stars Jersey . The star receiver certainly isnt celebrating it with the Texans mired in a franchise-record 13-game skid. Stephen Johns Stars Jersey . - Quarterback Brady Quinn says he has been released by the Miami Dolphins.LONDON -- Lukas Podolski scored a brace in the first half on Friday to help give Arsenal a routine 4-0 victory over third-tier Coventry in the fourth round of the FA Cup. In a game that Arsenal dominated from the start, Podolski put the hosts ahead in the 15th minute by slotting home a cool finish after being set up by Mesut Ozil. He then doubled the lead with a close-range header from a corner in the 27th. The win was never in doubt after that and Arsenal added two late goals as substitute Olivier Giroud struck in the 85th after replacing Podolski five minutes earlier, before Santi Cazorla slotted in the fourth. In Fridays only other FA Cup game, Nottingham Forest was held to a 0-0 draw at home against Preston. Playing in a steady drizzle in north London, it was the kind of comfortable victory Arsenal had hoped for as it looks ahead to facing Bayern Munich in the Champions League knockout round, while trying to protect its slim lead atop the Premier League. Despite playing at home against third-tier opposition, manager Arsene Wenger named a surprisingly strong starting lineup with both Mesut Ozil and Jack Wilshere in midfield -- perhaps worried about another upset after going out to Blackburn last season. And with Wenger contemplating buying a striker in the January transfer window, Podolski showed off his scoring touch by deciding the game in the first half. Podolski was first sent clear by Ozil on the left side of the area and calmly rounded goalkeeper Joe Murphy before slotting a left-footed shot into an empty net. The second came from a corner that Per Mertesacker met at the near post and headed on across the goal, with Podolski waiting at the far post to nod it into the net. "Podolski can score goals and when you have a goal chance you want him to have it," Wenger said. "He is very accurate in his finishing." Coventry was more enterprising after the break, enjoying several spells of pressure, but Leon Clarke wasted tthe teams two best chances for a goal.dddddddddddd Clarke raced clear down the right flank in the 50th but got too close to the byline before firing a low shot from a tight angle that Fabianski parried. He then hit the right post with a first time effort from just inside the area as Arsenal seemed content to sit back and protect its lead. "I know it was 4-0 but when you consider the difference in resources of both clubs, I know its a hard luck story, but my players should take so much confidence from that performance," Coventry manager Steven Pressley said. Giroud took his only chance in front of goal by slotting in a finish inside the near post and Cazorla continued his scoring streak from a similar position for his third goal in two games. Arsenals talented 16-year-old midfielder Gedion Zelalem had also come on as a substitute, as Wenger for the first time gave a debut to a player who was born after the Frenchman became manager of the team. "That is more damaging for me than for him," Wenger joked. Zelalem has been touted as perhaps the clubs biggest talent since Cesc Fabregas and was given a rousing reception when he came on. Coventry is a former Premier League club and the 1987 FA Cup winner but has struggled both on and off the field in recent years. The team is 11th in League One this season and has been forced to play all of its home games at Northampton because of a rent dispute with the owners of Ricoh Arena. The contingent of about 6,000 Coventry fans protested the situation during the game, holding up signs in the 35th and 61st minute. Arsenal had its own stadium problems, with some of the floodlights at the Emirates going out just before halftime. The game continued without interruption, with hundreds of fans making fun of the situation by lighting up their mobile phones in the stands in mock efforts to illuminate the pitch. It was about the only thing that went wrong for Arsenal on the night. ' ' '