The AP reports: Not only did Dwyane Wade continue his run of career highs, he sent the Detroit Pistons to a new low. Wade scored 31 points and set a personal best with 16 assists, leading the Miami Heat to a 103-91 win Tuesday night and handing the Pistons their seventh straight loss—Detroit’s longest slide in more than seven years… Daequan Cook scored 16 points, Jermaine O’Neal added 14 and Jamario Moon had 12 for the Heat, who took control with a 22-8 run to close the third quarter. Allen Iverson scored 22 points and Tayshaun Prince added 18 for the Pistons (27-28), who fell under .500 this late in a season for the first time since 2000-01. Antonio McDyess shot 8-for-10 and scored 17 for Detroit.
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West 25 in return, Cavs beat Pistons 99-78
The AP reports: It’s not often someone other than LeBron James gets top billing in a victory by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Delonte West provided a rare exception Sunday night. West scored 25 points in his first game since mid-January and led the Cavaliers to a 99-78 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night. West, sidelined since Jan. 15 with a fractured right wrist, was 8-of-11 from the field and made all five of his 3-point attempts… “Was Delonte injured?” joked James, who had 20 points in 31 minutes after scoring 55 Friday night against Milwaukee… Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 16 for Cleveland, while Wally Szczerbiak scored 15. Walter Herrmann scored 13 for Detroit.
Spurs beat Pistons 83-79
The AP reports: Michael Curry was quite happy with the way his team defended Tim Duncan on Thursday night. That’s why the rookie Detroit Pistons coach was so impressed that Duncan finished with 18 points and 18 rebounds in San Antonio’s 83-79 victory. “It says a lot about Tim Duncan that we can say he didn’t have a great game when he had 18 and 18,” Curry said. “People aren’t going to fully appreciate what a great player they’re watching until he retires. He just goes out there and does that game after game.” … Tony Parker added 19 points and 11 assists for the Spurs, who are 4-3 on an eight-game road trip… Allen Iverson led all scorers with 31 points, and Antonio McDyess added 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Rodney Stuckey has fallen off
The Detroit Free Press (Vince Ellis) reports: Troubles continue for point guard Rodney Stuckey after his three-point, one-assist effort against the Bucks. He also fouled out. After averaging 14.3 points at one point, his scoring average has fallen to 13.4. Stuckey is a source of concern for coach Michael Curry. “We got to find a way to get Stuckey on track,” Curry said after Wednesday’s practice. “He kind of ignites everybody else. I think he spends a lot of time trying to make sure everybody else is OK on the court, but his natural instinct is to be aggressive, and we just want him to be himself.”
Allen Iverson haircut: Cornrows are gone
Bucks beat slumping Pistons 92-86
The AP reports: Richard Jefferson scored 29 points and Ramon Sessions added 17 and the Milwaukee Bucks beat Detroit 92-86 on Tuesday night, sending the Pistons to their 14th home loss of the season… The Bucks overcame 24 points and 14 rebounds from Antonio McDyess to pull within two games of Detroit in the Eastern Conference standings. Malik Allen added a season-high 14 points for Milwaukee, which won its third straight… Richard Hamilton had 22 points for the Pistons, who have lost four straight.
NBA to borrow $175 million
The Sports Business Journal (Daniel Kaplan and John Lombardo) reports: The NBA is set to borrow $175 million Feb. 26, marking one of the first league financings since the implosion of the credit markets last fall. The money, which will be available to 15 teams, supplements an existing $1.7 billion leaguewide credit facility that uses the NBA’s media contracts as collateral to secure loans for the clubs. The NBA surveyed its teams, and 15 responded they would like to tap into the new borrowing. While the league said it is pleased to borrow in an extremely illiquid credit market, the deal came at a cost, with interest rates up to 8.27 percent, hammering home the notion that the era of cheap money in sports is over. The 15 teams can use the money for any purpose, but covering operating losses may be high on the list.
InsideHoops.com editor says: Loan me three fiddy. I want some ribs.
Pistons to change lineup
The Detroit Free Press reports: Pistons coach Michael Curry is shaking up his starting lineup coming out of the All-Star break. Curry said Antonio McDyess will become a starter again and Amir Johnson will come off the bench. “As I talked about going into the break, I’m going to start him instead of Amir,” Curry said of McDyess. “Hopefully Amir will play better with some second line guys. Hopefully we can be more solid defensively, especially when we have the help with ‘Dyess in there and also to stay consistent.
Pistons trade Alex Acker to Clippers, who waive Cheikh Samb
The Los Angeles Clippers today acquired guard Alex Acker and the Detroit Pistons’ second round selection in the 2011 NBA Draft from the Pistons in exchange for a conditional second round selection in the 2013 NBA Draft. In a related move, the Clippers also waived center Cheikh Samb.
A Compton native, Acker has appeared in seven games this season for the Pistons, averaging 1.3 points and 0.1 assists in 2.9 minutes per game. A former star at Pepperdine University, Acker was originally drafted by the Pistons in the second round of the 2005 NBA Draft (60th overall) and played in five games and averaged 1.8 points during his rookie season.
Acker, 26, moved to Europe in 2006-07 and averaged 14.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists with the Greek team Olympiacos in Euroleague play. Acker appeared in 30 games with Spain’s FC Barcelona in 2007-08, averaging 6.8 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.0 assists.
A former standout at Eisenhower High School in Rialto, Acker finished his collegiate career at Pepperdine as the 20th all-time leading scorer in school history and was named to the 2004-05 All-West Coast Conference team as a junior and named the WCC Freshman of the Year in 2002-03.
In a related move, the Clippers waived center Cheikh Samb. Samb was acquired by the Clippers on Jan. 5 in a trade with Denver and proceeded to play in 10 games with Los Angeles, averaging 1.1 points and 1.3 rebounds in 5.4 minutes.
Allen Iverson slowing down
The Detroit Free Press (Vince Ellis) reports: Allen Iverson is showing signs of wear (if you’re a fan) or age (if you’re a critic). One NBA scout, who requested anonymity because it’s against the code to criticize players publicly, said of Iverson: “His first step is not quite as explosive.” Also, if you watch many Pistons games — and the scout agreed — you know Iverson misses lay-ups. These aren’t the lay-ups when you’re out in the driveway messing around. In the NBA, more often than not, there is contact in the lane when you try to make a shot. Iverson used to finish through the contact or explode to the basket so fast the only thing a defender could do was foul him. These days, defenders also can keep him out of the paint a little easier than before. That’s a tell-tale sign that his legs, the base for finishing around the basket, aren’t what they were.