Short-handed no more, Pistons respond

Times wires
Saturday, February 26, 2011

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Rodney Stuckey had 28 points and a big steal in the final minute, helping the Pistons bounce back from an embarrassing start to the weekend with a 120-116 win over the Jazz on Saturday.

One night earlier, Detroit used only six players in a lopsided loss at Philadelphia after several Pistons missed at least part of a team shootaround. Stuckey and Austin Daye, who arrived late to the shootaround and didn't play Friday, were back on the court against the Jazz. Daye scored 18 points, 11 in the fourth quarter.

Paul Millsap led Utah with 23 points and 11 rebounds.

Will Bynum, who had played all 48 minutes against Philadelphia, put Detroit ahead for good with a driving three-point play with 1:52 remaining. That gave the Pistons a 111-108 lead.

Millsap then appeared to be hit in the head while losing the ball inside. When Detroit came up with it, Utah had to foul to prevent a five-on-four situation while their forward was slow getting up. Bynum made both free throws to push the lead back to five.

Utah cut the lead to 114-112 when Al Jefferson scored inside with 27.4 seconds remaining, but Stuckey made two free throws, then swiped a Utah pass to help the Pistons to hold on.

Ben Gordon scored 17 for the Pistons, and Charlie Villanueva added 16. Rookie Greg Monroe contributed 12 points and 16 rebounds, and Bynum scored 11 in 22:41 of action — an easy night's work compared to Friday.

Seven Pistons missed at least part of Friday's shootaround, and none of them played against the 76ers. The team said Richard Hamilton, Chris Wilcox, Stuckey and Daye missed the bus, with Stuckey and Daye able to arrive late.

Tayshaun Prince (back) and Tracy McGrady (illness) missed both games. Ben Wallace was unavailable after the death of his brother earlier Saturday.

PERKINS SETTLES IN: Kendrick Perkins started to hear it from his new teammates when he walked into the Thunder's practice facility wearing sneakers that were Celtics green. It didn't take long to remedy that.

By the end of his first practice with Oklahoma City, he had new shoes and talked of his desire to stay with the Thunder long term.

Perkins was tearful upon learning he was traded from Boston, but he says the Celtics are no longer at the top of his list when he becomes a free agent at the end of the season.

"I hope I can be here. I want to be here," Perkins said of the Thunder. "I couldn't find a better situation for myself."

Pistons 120, Jazz 116

UTAH (116): Kirilenko 9-11 3-5 21, Millsap 9-12 5-8 23, Jefferson 10-17 0-0 20, Harris 3-9 9-11 17, Bell 6-9 0-0 14, Price 0-2 0-0 0, Favors 3-5 4-7 10, Watson 0-2 0-0 0, Miles 3-6 2-3 9, Elson 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 44-74 23-34 116.

DETROIT (120): Daye 6-13 2-2 18, Wilcox 3-4 1-3 7, Monroe 6-12 0-1 12, Stuckey 9-18 10-11 28, Gordon 5-13 5-7 17, Summers 3-5 0-0 7, Bynum 4-9 3-3 11, Villanueva 6-10 0-0 16, Maxiell 1-2 2-4 4. Totals 43-86 23-31 120.

Utah 28 25 31 32— 116

Detroit 27 31 25 37— 120

3-Point Goals—Utah 5-13 (Bell 2-3, Harris 2-5, Miles 1-1, Kirilenko 0-1, Watson 0-1, Price 0-2), Detroit 11-17 (Villanueva 4-5, Daye 4-5, Gordon 2-2, Summers 1-3, Stuckey 0-1, Bynum 0-1). Fouled Out—Bynum. Rebounds—Utah 45 (Millsap 11), Detroit 47 (Monroe 16). Assists—Utah 37 (Harris 12), Detroit 22 (Stuckey, Bynum 8). Total Fouls—Utah 25, Detroit 30. Technicals—Bell, Utah defensive three second, Bynum, Detroit defensive three second. A—18,564 (22,076).

Grizzlies 120, Kings 92

SACRAMENTO (92): Casspi 2-6 2-2 6, Thompson 1-6 2-2 4, Dalembert 3-7 1-2 7, Udrih 10-13 3-4 24, Taylor 4-9 0-0 9, Jackson 3-7 0-0 6, Jeter 2-6 0-0 4, Thornton 7-18 1-2 15, Cousins 5-12 4-7 14, Greene 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 38-85 13-19 92.

MEMPHIS (120): Young 5-9 0-0 10, Randolph 10-15 3-4 23, Gasol 10-15 1-1 21, Conley 3-8 2-2 8, Allen 1-2 2-2 4, Williams 3-6 0-0 6, Battier 1-3 0-0 2, Mayo 4-12 2-2 13, Vasquez 2-4 0-0 4, Arthur 7-8 3-4 17, Haddadi 5-11 0-1 10, Carney 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 52-95 13-16 120.

Sacramento 28 21 17 26— 92

Memphis 23 33 33 31— 120

3-Point Goals—Sacramento 3-12 (Greene 1-1, Udrih 1-2, Taylor 1-2, Jeter 0-1, Casspi 0-2, Thornton 0-4), Memphis 3-11 (Mayo 3-7, Williams 0-2, Battier 0-2). Fouled Out—Cousins. Rebounds—Sacramento 48 (Casspi, Dalembert 8), Memphis 51 (Randolph 12). Assists—Sacramento 22 (Thompson, Udrih 5), Memphis 23 (Williams 5). Total Fouls—Sacramento 19, Memphis 18. Technicals—Randolph. A—16,028 (18,119)

Mavericks 105, Wizards 99

DALLAS (105): Stojakovic 2-6 0-0 5, Nowitzki 6-18 8-11 21, Chandler 10-14 3-4 23, Kidd 1-1 0-0 3, Beaubois 1-7 0-0 2, Marion 4-6 5-6 13, Terry 10-18 3-5 25, Mahinmi 0-1 0-0 0, Barea 4-8 0-0 9, Haywood 1-1 2-5 4, Stevenson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 39-81 21-31 105.

WASHINGTON (99): Howard 3-9 3-5 9, Lewis 5-7 0-0 13, McGee 3-9 0-0 6, Wall 11-26 1-4 24, Young 7-16 0-0 14, Seraphin 4-5 0-0 8, Booker 3-5 2-7 8, Bibby 1-5 0-0 2, Evans 2-4 0-0 5, Crawford 5-9 0-0 10, Yi 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 44-95 6-16 99.

Dallas 23 36 19 27— 105

Washington 22 27 23 27— 99

3-Point Goals—Dallas 6-17 (Terry 2-5, Nowitzki 1-1, Kidd 1-1, Stojakovic 1-3, Barea 1-4, Stevenson 0-1, Beaubois 0-2), Washington 5-14 (Lewis 3-3, Wall 1-1, Evans 1-2, Crawford 0-2, Bibby 0-2, Young 0-4). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Dallas 59 (Chandler 13), Washington 54 (McGee 11). Assists—Dallas 28 (Kidd 14), Washington 17 (Wall 5). Total Fouls—Dallas 15, Washington 22. Technicals—Washington defensive three second. Flagrant Fouls—Evans. A—19,203 (20,173).

Source: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/short-handed-no-more-pistons-respond/1154240

Clint Eastwood US Congress Digital media United Nations Financial Services Authority (FSA) Gabriel Agbonlahor