AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Stan Van Gundy wants his Detroit Pistons to play with energy in the middle of a playoff race.
The problem is that sometimes urgency leads to frustration — especially if a game against a weaker opponent becomes more difficult than it should be.
"You've got to learn to deal with the pressure," said Van Gundy, Detroit's coach. "You can't say there's no pressure, because there is, there's pressure on these games. But if you want to play at a high level in the NBA, you have to play with pressure."
The Pistons finally shook out of their funk late in the third quarter and routed the short-handed Phoenix Suns 112-95 on Sunday.