The AP reports: Rasheed Wallace made three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and scored 19 points as the Detroit Pistons rallied from 10 points down to beat San Antonio 89-77 on Tuesday night despite the return of Manu Ginobili to the Spurs’ starting lineup. Allen Iverson also scored 19 for Detroit (11-6), which has won two of three. Richard Hamilton added 16 points and Tayshaun Prince scored 15. The Spurs (9-8) have dropped two straight after winning four in a row. They were led by Tim Duncan, who had 23 points, but just one point in the fourth quarter. Ginobili scored 13 in his first start of the season after missing the first 12 games because of offseason ankle surgery.
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Nov 30: Blazers 96, Pistons 85
The AP reports: While the Pistons are 10-2 during the rest of the week, they have been outscored by an average of 17 points while losing all four Sunday games. Portland’s young starting lineup dominated Detroit’s first five, outscoring them 74-52… LaMarcus Aldridge led Portland with 27 points, while Brandon Roy added 19 and Greg Oden finished with 10 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in the Blazers’ fourth straight win… Richard Hamilton had 18 for Detroit, but Allen Iverson finished with only nine on 2-of-9 shooting. The Pistons fell to just 6-6 since Iverson joined the team… Tayshaun Prince, who had played at least 30 minutes in every game this season, saw just 22 minutes of action Sunday.
Nov 28: Pistons 107, Bucks 97
The AP reports: Coming off the bench for the first time as a Piston, Iverson scored 17 points and led Detroit to a 107-97 victory over the slumping Milwaukee Bucks… Richard Jefferson and Ramon Sessions each scored 21 points for the Bucks, who lost their third consecutive game and trailed by as many as 15 points. Milwaukee center Dan Gadzuric, starting in place of the injured Andrew Bogut, had 12 rebounds… Walter Herrmann added 16 points and Jason Maxiell had 13 for the Pistons, who shot nearly 50 percent in the first half, making 20 of 41. The Bucks (7-11) trailed for more than 40 minutes.
Allen Iverson skips practice
The AP reports: Allen Iverson apparently chose family and food over practice — and he’ll be fined for it. Iverson was the only player who didn’t show up when the Detroit Pistons worked out on Thanksgiving.
InsideHoops.com editor says: I think practice should be optional on the select few major family-oriented holidays each season. But, naturally that’s the decision of the team/coach, not an individual player.
Nov 23: Wolves 106, Pistons 80
The AP reports: Randy Foye got the message. After two days of listening to his coaches and teammates urge him to play with more intensity, the Minnesota Timberwolves guard did just that on Sunday. Foye had 23 points and a career-high 14 assists, and the Timberwolves beat the Detroit Pistons 106-80 for their first road victory of the season… “We weren’t happy with the way we lost to Boston, and we knew we were playing a similar team tonight,” said Ryan Gomes, who scored 20 points… Al Jefferson had 19 points for Minnesota and reserve Craig Smith scored 16. Tayshaun Prince led the Pistons with 20 points, but Jason Maxiell was the only other player to reach double figures with 12.
Pistons will sign Antonio McDyess
The Boston Globe (Marc Spears) reports: As expected, free agent Antonio McDyess has decided to return back to the Detroit Pistons, according to his agent Andy Miller tonight… The Celtics were among 18 teams that were interested in the 2001 NBA All-Star and president Danny Ainge made calls to Miller and McDyess. Indications from the beginning, however, were that McDyess would return to Detroit although he can’t officially sign until Dec. 7.
Walter Herrmann has concussion
Pistons forward Walter Herrmann suffered a mild concussion in last night’s game at Boston. Herrmann spent the night in a Boston hospital but was released this morning and has returned home. He is listed as day to day.
Nov 20: Celtics 98, Pistons 80
The AP reports: Rajon Rondo had 18 points and eight assists, outplaying the recent Pistons acquisition and leading the Boston Celtics to a 98-80 victory over Detroit on Thursday night in a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference finals… Allen Iverson had 16 points and four assists for Detroit, which fell to 4-3 since he was acquired from Denver for Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess… Kevin Garnett scored 15 in his return from a one-game suspension, and Kendrick Perkins had 10 rebounds before both teams emptied their benches down the stretch… The Celtics scored the first seven points of the second quarter and opened a 40-27 lead with 5:13 left in the half. It was 49-40 at halftime and Boston went on an 18-5 run in the third to turn a 10-point lead into a 75-52 blowout.
InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: For Boston, Rondo shot 7-of-11 and also had 3 steals. Garnett had 3 steals as well. Tony Allen shot 6-of-7 off the bench for 13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Ray Allen scored 12. Eddie House shot 4-of-7 off the bench for 11. For Detroit, Iverson shot 5-of-13 for 16 points, just one rebound, and equal assists/turnovers. Rasheed Wallace had a modest 13 points and 6 rebounds. Richard Hamilton was shut down with 12 points and little else. Jason Maxiell had 10 points and 6 rebounds on 9 shots. All Boston did wrong was brick their free throws, shooting 19-of-28.
Nov 19: Pistons 96, Cavs 89
The AP reports: Allen Iverson scored 23 points, and Rasheed Wallace had 10 of his 21 points during a fourth-quarter surge that gave Detroit a 96-89 victory over Cleveland on Wednesday night that ended the Cavaliers’ eight-game winning streak. Detroit handed the Los Angeles Lakers their only defeat, beating them by double digits Friday night on the road… “It’s not like we set out and said, `Oh, these are the NBA’s hottest teams.’ We’re just trying to make ourselves better,” said Wallace, who had a season-high 15 rebounds… LeBron James was 8-of-21 and missed all four of his 3-point attempts, but made enough free throws to finish with 25 points to fall just five below his league-leading average… Detroit’s Richard Hamilton scored 15 points, reserve Rodney Stuckey and Tayshaun Prince each added nine points. Cleveland’s Mo Williams scored 25 points, Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 13 points and Delonte West added 11.
Richard Hamilton struggling lately
Michigan Live (A. Sherrod Blakely) reports: In the six games he has played with Allen Iverson, Richard Hamilton has averaged 16.6 points while shooting 35.4 percent from the field. Hamilton has never averaged fewer than 17 points per game with Detroit, and his worst shooting percentage in a season is 42 percent, which he did as a rookie in Washington. “It’s all about timing right now,” Hamilton said. “Anytime you play with a different point guard … with Chauncey, I knew what he was going to do every time up the court. He knew when I was going to come off a screen. He knew where to put the ball at. Now I have to learn (Iverson), just like I learned Chauncey when I first came here.” Joe Dumars said he is not surprised to see Hamilton struggle with the adjustment more than some of the other players.