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. 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Saltalamacchia has agreed to a $21 million, three-year deal with the Miami Marlins, two people familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday.OKLAHOMA CITY - For the first time, Thunder coach Scott Brooks faces an extended period of time without his two biggest stars.With MVP Kevin Durant already out, the Thunder announced Saturday that point guard Russell Westbrook will miss at least a month with a broken right hand. Westbrook, a three-time All-Star, was injured during the second quarter of Thursday nights 93-90 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. The team said Westbrook had successful surgery Saturday morning on the second metacarpal in the hand, and he will be re-evaluated in four weeks.Westbrook was expected to carry more of the load while Durant sits out for at least a month with a broken right foot. Now, continuity — one of Oklahoma Citys greatest strengths — is now gone. When Oklahoma City (0-2) plays its home opener Saturday against Denver, it will be the first time since Westbrook entered the league in 2008-09 that the home fans wont see either Durant or Westbrook in the lineup. The duo missed a game at Boston last season, the only time Brooks has been without both since he became the head coach during Westbrooks rookie season.Theres much more missing than Durant and Westbrook. Reggie Jackson (ankle), Jeremy Lamb (lower back sprain), Mitch McGary (broken left foot) and Anthony Morrow (left MCL sprain) also missed Thursdays game with injuries.The Thunder have reached the Western Conference Finals three of the past foour years and the NBA Finals once, but it will be hard to get back to that level if they fall too far back in the standings before their key players heal.ddddddddddddWestbrook appeared to be on the edge of superstardom. He averaged 26.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.1 assists in 19 playoff games last season. On Media Day, Brooks declared Westbrook the best point guard in the NBA. Durants injury offered a chance for Westbrook to establish himself as an MVP candidate and to show he could lead the way Durant did while Westbrook was out for two months following knee surgery last season. Westbrook got off to a good start, scoring 38 points in the season-opening loss at Portland before leaving his teams second game.Serge Ibaka is the only Thunder player with star talent remaining. The athletic 6-foot-10 power forward averaged a career-high 15.1 points last season and also stepped up last season while Westbrook was out. He has been on the All-Defensive first team the past three years.Brooks has been forced to adjust. Free agent pickup Sebastian Telfair, the teams No. 3 point guard, played 38 minutes against the Clippers. Perry Jones, who has struggled to get playing time behind Durant, scored a career-high 32 points against the Clippers. Lance Thomas, a training camp addition, played 19 minutes against Los Angeles.___Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP. ' ' '