DETROIT PISTONS 2008-2009 SCHEDULE AND RESULTS

Wow, they really suck.

The Cavs sure are rolling!

Saturday, February 28, 2009
Pistons 93, Magic 85
Hamilton justifies Pistons' move
Given starting spot, guard scores 31 to lead Pistons as they put end to eight-game slide.
Chris McCosky / The Detroit News

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Richard Hamilton was asked if he felt any pressure going into the game Friday. After all, he had pressed to get his starting job back and he got it. It was on him now to validate the move.

"Nah, this is what I do," Hamilton said. "There was no added pressure. This is my comfort zone. Coming off the bench ain't my comfort zone."

Hamilton was brilliant, scoring 31 to lead the Pistons to a 93-85 victory over the Orlando Magic, ending the losing skid at eight.

The Pistons now are 21-6 against the Magic (counting playoffs) in the Dwight Howard era.

"With the situation with Rip being put back in the lineup, there was a sense of urgency," said Tayshaun Prince, who added 17 points. "We tried to get Rip going. I had the hot hand early but at the end of the day, we know who our No. 1 option is and he carried us in that fourth quarter."

Hamilton scored 10 in the fourth, as the Pistons put on an offensive clinic. They made 10 of 17 shots and scored on 12 of their last 15 possessions.

"Over the past 20 games or so, we haven't been able to finish games," Prince said. "But we were able to find the groove. And it was surprising to hold on. We hadn't had any rhythm the last 20 or so games and then we just bounced back and had that rhythm tonight."

Rodney Stuckey played like he'd been set free, as well, which was part of the reasoning for re-starting Hamilton. He scored 22 points.

"I think it's just him being more comfortable in the game," coach Michael Curry said. "Maybe it was because he had the ball in his hands a little more and he felt more comfortable that way. He really looked good tonight."

As good as the Pistons were offensively, they were even better defensively. They limited the Magic to 14 points in the third quarter. Rasheed Wallace (10 rebounds, two steals) and Antonio McDyess (13 rebounds and a block) did their usual solid job against Dwight Howard.

Howard finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds, but he had only three points in the fourth quarter.

"Our thing is, when we can play Dwight Howard straight up, it allows us to stay on their 3-point shooters," Prince said. "When we do that, it puts us in a position to get the game."

The Magic lead the league, making an average of 10.46 3-pointers a game. They were 4-for-19 against the Pistons.

"That's how we play," Hamilton said. "We get aggressive, we pressure the ball and we help guys out. We just try to grind it out with them. We were just on a string tonight on both ends of the floor."

He didn't say that was how the Pistons used to play, but the sentiment echoed. Allen Iverson, who found out he would be coming off the bench Thursday, was not with the team. He was on a flight back to Detroit to get his back examined. He is not expected to play Sunday in Boston, either.

Clearly, the Pistons operated at a higher level of comfort, confidence and efficiency on this night.

As Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said, "I think they had a point to prove. I know Rip did. He had a point to prove."

Point taken.

Wallace fined

Rasheed Wallace wasn't exactly doing cartwheels over dodging a one-game suspension.

"I wasn't tripping if I didn't play and I ain't tripping now," he said after shoot-around.

The NBA rescinded two of Wallace's technicals, reducing his total to 14. But on Friday, they hit him with a $25,000 fine for throwing a towel into the stands and another in the direction of referee Bill Kennedy .

"We just need to get a win and get off this eight-game skid," Wallace said. "Even though I know we're losing and it doesn't seem like we really care, but we do. We aren't throwing in the towel. There's no quitters."

Slam dunk

The Denver Nuggets were considering signing former Pistons and Michigan State guard Mateen Cleaves to a 10-day contract.

Pistons will not make the playoffs this year

Lottery Time

Sunday, March 1, 2009
Pistons 105, Celtics 95
Pistons upend Celtics
Chris McCosky / The Detroit News

BOSTON -- The Pistons announced to world Sunday they will be part of the conversation come playoff time.

With a 14-2 burst down the stretch, the Pistons KO'd the Celtics, 105-95, a nice encore to their victory in Orlando on Friday. The Pistons had lost five straight regular-season games to the Celtics.

Richard Hamilton scored 25 points and Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace scored 15 to lead the Pistons. Prince and Hamilton sealed with victory with back-to-back three-pointers in the final 1:19.

The Pistons also got a boost in the first half from Walter Herrmann, who scored 11.

The Celtics were led by Paul Pierce with 26 and Glen Davis with 18.

The Pistons, after playing perhaps their finest half of basketball and gaining a 55-47 lead, didn't score for the first 4:18 of the third quarter. While they missed five straight shots and turned the ball over twice, the Celtics made six straight shots, a 12-0 run and took a 59-55 lead.

During the Pistons' recently ended eight-game losing streak, that might have been the ballgame. But the Pistons didn't fold.

Rasheed Wallace converted a three-point play to stop the bleeding. Hamilton then scored 11 points in a 22-11 run to put the Pistons back in control entering the final quarter, 77-70.

But that lead lasted less than two minutes.

The Celtics had missed their first nine three-pointers, the last a miss by Eddie House on their first possession of the fourth quarter. But the Pistons didn't get the rebound and House got a second 3-point attempt. Swish. Pierce converted a three-point play, and then House hit another three -- lead gone.

The Celtics extended the lead to 85-81 before Wallace made a 3-point shot, setting up the Pistons' finishing burst.

The Pistons were without Allen Iverson (sore back).

The Celtics continue to play without Kevin Garnett, who missed his fifth game because of a right knee injury.

And the Suns won!

Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Pistons 100, Nuggets 95
Billups stars, but Pistons win
Ted Kulfan / The Detroit News

AUBURN HILLS -- Chauncey Billups had quite a return to The Palace, but his former teammates had the last laugh.

Billups, who scored 34 points Tuesday, received thunderous applause when he was introduced Tuesday. But the Pistons overcame an 11-point third quarter deficit to defeat the Denver Nuggets, 100-95.

Blistering fourth-quarter shooting and balanced scoring carried the Pistons.

Tayshaun Prince scored 23, Richard Hamilton 21, Rodney Stuckey 17 and Antonio McDyess and Rasheed Wallace 16 apiece. McDyess had 12 rebounds and Wallace 10.

Nene scored 20 for the Nuggets and J.R. Smith 16 (11 in the fourth quarter).

A Billups 3-pointer gave the Nuggets a 65-54 lead in the third quarter before the Pistons rallied.

Hamilton's short jumper gave the Pistons a 72-70 lead with 1:42 left in the third quarter. The teams were tied at 74 through three.

Billups scored 21 in the first half as the Nuggets took a 54-44 halftime lead.

Billups had half of his team's points (13) in the first quarter, but the Pistons still managed a 26-26 tie.

Go Pistons


Maybe they ain't dead yet

Be funny if Pistons barely made the playoffs

Then caught fire in the playoffs


GO PISTONS!


Maybe they will make the playoffs after all

Friday, March 6, 2009
Pistons 108, Warriors 91
Pistons trounce Warriors
Chris McCosky / The Detroit News

AUBURN HILLS -- After playing, and beating, three straight elite-level teams, the Pistons got what amounted to a night off.

The Golden State Warriors, bad when at full strength, came into The Palace Friday with eight available players. Three starters were out -- Stephen Jackson (hamstring), Monta Ellis (ankle) and Andris Biedrins (personal leave) -- as were three key reserves -- Corey Maggette (ankle), Kelenna Azubuike (back) and Brandon Wright (shoulder).

Those players represent 88.2 points per game for the Warriors.

It was as it should have been -- no contest.

The Pistons ran the undermanned, undersized Warriors out of the building, 108-91, extending their winning streak to four games.

The win also inches the Pistons (31-29) closer to a home court playoff spot. They now have just one more loss than the No. 4 seed in the East, Atlanta, and No. 5 seed Miami.

Richard Hamilton led the Pistons with 22 points -- his fifth straight 20-point game. Tayshaun Prince had 16. Rodney Stuckey had 14 points and eight assists.

Jamal Crawford (Michigan) led the Warriors with 25.

The Pistons blew the game open quickly with a 20-4 spurt that gave them their largest end of the first quarter lead of the season -- 33-16. From there, it was pretty much a full-roster scrimmage.

Coach Michael Curry emptied the bench -- except for rookie Walter Sharpe -- in the second quarter and the team still managed to tie their season high with 63 points in the first half.

The Pistons outrebounded the smaller Warriors 31-18 in the first half (54-40 for the game) and outscored them in the paint, 28-12 (58-34 for the game).

Jason Maxiell had 16 points with nine rebounds. Will Bynum scored 13.

Pistons on Fire

I am starting to feel stupid about my Pistons not making the playoffs posts

Though I am happy to be wrong on this


GO PISTONS!

Saturday, March 7, 2009
Hawks 87, Pistons 83
Pistons scrap but waste chance late
Ted Kulfan / The Detroit News

ATLANTA -- What made it frustrating for the Pistons was that the game was right there for the taking.

But they didn't take it, losing 87-83 to the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night.

"We had it right there," Richard Hamilton said. "That's our type of game."

The Pistons tied the game at 78 with an 8-0 run highlighted by two Hamilton 3-pointers, the second with 4 minutes, 28 seconds remaining.

Hamilton had all eight points in the run. An Atlanta sellout crowd that finally woke up a few minutes before suddenly was nervous again.

But some costly Pistons turnovers resulted in Hawks Al Horford and Flip Murray each coming down with thunderous dunks on Atlanta's next two possessions.

And the Hawks wouldn't relinquish the lead the rest of the way.

"Our turnovers were crucial in this game," coach Michael Curry said. "It was tied, 78-78; they ended up making two quick baskets off our turnovers. That was big for us. We only had 12 turnovers, but in position where they could get out and score in transition."

Antonio McDyess' tip got the Pistons to within 85-83 with 8.5 seconds left, but the Hawks preserved the lead with a pair of Joe Johnson free throws.

Hamilton led the Pistons with 20 points. Rodney Stuckey added 19 and Rasheed Wallace had 14.

Josh Smith scored 19, Al Horford 18 and Mike Bibby 17 for the Hawks.

"We lost this game on mistakes," said Stuckey, who had four of those 12 Pistons turnovers. "We played hard but we just didn't execute when we needed to."

The Pistons saw their four-game win streak come to an end. Atlanta had lost its last two.

The Hawks also swept the season series from the Pistons, winning all three games. It was the first time Atlanta had swept a season series from Detroit since 1993-94 (4-0).

"We swept a great team, something that hasn't been done here in many years," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "That's unbelievable because they've had wonderful runs the last several years. Our guys responded (Saturday), from beginning to end."

The Pistons had a six-point lead in the third quarter, 55-49, but saw the Hawks go on a 14-5 run to close out the quarter with a 63-60 advantage.

The Pistons led, 26-19, after one quarter and extended the lead to 10 in the second quarter, 31-21, on Arron Afflalo's 3-pointer.

But the Hawks closed the gap behind a spark from Murray off the bench, Bibby and Johnson to pull within 43-41 at halftime.

"We were unable to get some key stops when we needed them," Stuckey said. "It took us a little too long to get into our offensive sets tonight. We were throwing up shots at the last second."

Pistons should have won that game

I hate when they lose games like that

Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Pistons 98, Magic 94
Pistons regain execution against customary patsy
Hamilton's effort is best: 29 points and 14 assists.
Ted Kulfan / The Detroit News

AUBURN HILLS -- The Pistons didn't execute the way they wanted Saturday in Atlanta. A few costly turnovers earned them a loss.

It was a much different story Monday.

The Pistons were crisp, efficient and put away the Orlando Magic, 98-94.

"Everybody who stepped onto the court gave a winning effort," coach Michael Curry said. "We played through everything, kept our composure, and just stayed within the game."

Curry mentioned how the scenarios were similar in both games. Both were tight, and execution was going to be important.

"It comes down to getting a good shot every possession and keep getting defensive stops," Curry said.

The Pistons received a brilliant effort from Richard Hamilton, who had 29 points and a career-high 14 assists.

Said Hamilton: "My shot wasn't falling so the one thing I tried to do is get my teammates open. They did a great job of knocking down shots so I just tried (to find holes) in the defense and make plays.

"It was a big game because with Allen (Iverson) not playing, 'Sheed (Rasheed Wallace) going down, and Stuck (Rodney Stuckey) getting hurt (in the third quarter, but he returned) it was going to be a tough game for us. We just dug deep and got the win."

"They played Rip a little different and we told him you may have to depend on your teammates to make shots," Curry said. "It opened up a few opportunities for (Hamilton). He made some real good decisions with the basketball and made big plays for us."

Hamilton scored the team's last seven points. Rodney Stuckey's jumper gave the Pistons a 91-90 lead with 1:58 left, then after a pair of missed free throws by Dwight Howard, Hamilton's jumper increased the lead to 93-90.

Tayshaun Prince scored 20 and Antonio McDyess had 13 points and a season-high 18 rebounds. In a reserve role, Kwame Brown had 10 points and four rebounds.

The Pistons swept the season series 3-0 over the Magic and have won 19 of the last 24 regular-season games between the teams.

"It's one of those things, we cause them matchup problems," McDyess said.

Howard scored 27 and Rashard Lewis 21 points for the Magic.

"Have you ever seen the movie 'Groundhog Dog?' " Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "It's just the same old story. We had a lot more turnovers than they did (15-7) and they had all the offensive rebounds (15-6)."

The Pistons and Magic both lost key players in the first half of Monday's game to injuries.

Rasheed Wallace limped off the court with 52.5 seconds left in the first quarter because of a strained left calf after coming down awkwardly on a rebound.

He didn't return to the game but Curry said the strain was mild.

Orlando forward Hedo Turkoglu hurt his lower leg but played sparingly in the second half.

You can reach Ted Kulfan at (313) 223-4606, or ted.kulfan@detnews.com

Big Win for the Pistons

Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Knicks 116, Pistons 111 (OT)
Pistons fade late, lose in overtime
Ted Kulfan / The Detroit News

AUBURN HILLS -- Antonio McDyess did everything he could, but he couldn't save the Pistons by himself Wednesday against the New York Knicks.

McDyess had 21 points and a career-high 22 rebounds, but the Knicks defeated the Pistons 116-111 in overtime.

Larry Hughes sank three free throws, tying the game at 101 with 10.2 seconds left in regulation. In overtime, Hughes' runner gave the Knicks a 105-103 lead at 3:28 and they didn't give it up. It was the first time the Knicks had led in the second half.

Hughes' layup gave New York at 110-105 lead with just over a minute left in overtime. Nate Robinson's two free throws gave the Knicks a 114-109 lead with 14.9 seconds left.

Richard Hamilton led the Pistons with 27 points and Rodney Stuckey and Tayshaun Prince each scored 23.

McDyess was the first Piston to surpass 20 points and 20 rebounds since Bison Dele in 1997.

Robinson had 30 points for the Knicks, Hughes 22, and Wilson Chandler (Benton Harbor) 17. David Lee had 16 points and 17 rebounds.

McDyess' jumper gave the Pistons a 99-96 lead, but Chandler's tap-in made it 99-98 with 13 seconds left.

Stuckey sank two free throws, giving the Pistons a 101-98 lead. Hughes tied the game with three free throws with 10.2 seconds after being fouled on a 3-point try by Hamilton.

The Pistons led 81-71 entering the final quarter, but the Knicks went on a 9-2 run, with seven points from Chandler.

Darn!

Friday, March 13, 2009
Pistons 99, Raptors 95 (OT)
Pistons hang on, win in OT
Chris McCosky / The Detroit News

TORONTO -- The Pistons, for the second straight game, endured a collapse in the fourth quarter. This time, they didn't let it defeat them.

Richard Hamilton, who had a miserable shooting night (8-for-26), opened overtime with four straight points, followed by five straight from Tayshaun Prince and the Pistons were able to ride that and escape Air Canada Centre on Friday with a 99-95 overtime victory.

Hamilton finished with 24 points -- his ninth straight 20-point game -- and a career-high 15 assists. He had eight of those assists in the first quarter.



Antonio McDyess had 16 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out with 15 seconds left in overtime and Rodney Stuckey scored 17.

Chris Bosh scored 27 and Jose Calderon 20 for the Raptors, who lost their seventh straight.

But it was too similar to the give-away loss to the Knicks on Wednesday.

The Pistons squandered leads of 11, nine (with four minutes left) and seven (with three minutes left) in the fourth quarter.

Even in overtime, a 97-88 lead with 2:44 left wasn't safe.

The Raptors scored seven unanswered points, cutting the lead to 97-95 when Bosh missed the second of two free-throw attempts with 15 seconds left.

Pops Mensah-Bonsu rebounded the miss, but got his putback rejected by Jason Maxiell (16 points). Maxiell then iced the win with an uncontested dunk with 6.8 seconds left.

The game looked over in regulation when Arron Afflalo, benched and nearly forgotten the past couple of weeks, hit a clutch 3-pointer with 39 seconds left Friday to put the Pistons up 88-84 with 39 seconds left.

Shawn Marion scored a layup in less than five seconds. McDyess' tip-in of a Prince miss was ruled basket interference.

Then, with 13.2 seconds left, Calderon took the ball, sped past Stuckey and scored on a straight-line layup to tie the game.

The Pistons had nine seconds to win it, but the best they could do was an off-balance jumper by Hamilton that missed.

GO PISTONS!

Sunday, March 15, 2009
Grizzlies 89, Pistons 84
Grizzlies get the best of Pistons
Chris McCosky / The Detroit News

AUBURN HILLS -- What do the lowly Memphis Grizzlies have in common with the New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks, Charlotte Bobcats and Minnesota Timberwolves?

They are all lottery-bound teams that came into The Palace and beat the Pistons.

The Grizzlies, who came in with 16 victories, built a 21-point lead and then staved off a rally Sunday for an 89-84 victory.

To be fair, the Pistons were coming off two straight overtime games, and facing a young, athletic team like the Grizzlies, without Rasheed Wallace (calf), was no easy task.

Mike Conley (20 points) made four free throws in the final 2:32 to quell the Pistons'comeback.

The Pistons had three chances to tie or take the lead in the final two minutes and failed to score.

Antonio McDyess had 19 points and 12 rebounds. Will Bynum scored 12 points and Kwame Brown had 13 rebounds and four steals.

The Pistons are 2-11 and haven't won at home on Sunday.

The Pistons honored owner Bill Davidson with a moment of silence before the game and video tributes throughout the game. A portrait of Davidson, who died Friday, sat on his seat along the baseline.

Darn!

Need to stop playing games on Sunday

Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Mavericks 103, Pistons 101
Mavericks top short-handed Pistons
Hamilton joins Iverson and Wallace on injured list, and Nowitzki helps Dallas take advantage.
Chris McCosky / The Detroit News

DALLAS -- Richard Hamilton was a portrait of frustration as he sat in front of his locker before the game Tuesday.

"This hurts me, man, I hate it," he said of an aggravated left groin muscle that kept him out the game Tuesday and most likely the game in Houston tonight, as well. "It kills me more than anything (to miss games at this critical time of the year)."

It killed the Pistons too. Without Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace (calf) and Allen Iverson (back), the Pistons scrapped and clawed but couldn't overcome the Dallas Mavericks. Dirk Nowitzki scored 30 -- his 11th straight 20-plus point game -- and the Mavericks prevailed, 103-101, before the 309th straight sellout crowd at American Airlines Center.

"I'm trying to trick myself and say, 'I'm all right, I'm all good,' " Hamilton said. "But I come home and I am on one leg and everybody is asking what's wrong with me."

What's wrong is a strained left groin muscle that has nagged Hamilton all season. He missed eight games because of it in December and January, and then managed to soldier on through the pain the past couple of months.

"He'd been doing a lot of work just to be ready to play in the games," coach Michael Curry said. "The injury that is there is the same one they saw earlier. It was there when he was playing less than 30 minutes and now that he is playing extended minutes, so I am sure his body has worn down."

The difference, Hamilton said, was that where the pain had been tolerable before, it became unbearable Sunday during the loss to Memphis.

"I thought it would feel better (Monday) morning but it hurt," Hamilton said. "The injury is getting worse instead of getting better or staying at the same level. There's no way I can play and the only thing that actually makes it better is rest."

Meanwhile, the losses keep coming for the Pistons. Sixty-six games into the season and they are back to .500 (33-33) and sitting a bit more snug in the seventh spot in the East.

"I was pleased with the way we competed and the way we kept fighting," Curry said

The Pistons trailed by as many as 17 points and were down 14 early in the fourth. But with Tayshaun Prince, Will Bynum and Arron Afflalo leading the charge, the Pistons made a late surge and got within five with 6:26 left.

"We got that mini-run going in the fourth and it seemed to get our energy up," said Afflalo, who started in place of Hamilton and contributed 16 points. "We started to play better defense and get some stops."

Bynum scored 13 of his career-high 19 points in the fourth. And Prince, who led the Pistons with 28, had 10 in the fourth.

But they never had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead. Jason Terry made four free throws and Nowitzki one in the final minute to seal it.

"It was a good effort, but it's not going to get us into the playoffs," Afflalo said. "We have to get wins."

The Pistons kept themselves in the game with a 27-5 edge in second-chance points.

"If we can have that same effort (tonight in Houston), with Rip back in the lineup," Curry said, "I like our chances."

Curry was then reminded that Hamilton was doubtful for tonight.

"I know, I was hoping. I've got the hope," he said.

Pistons team looks like a MASH Unit

Give Pistons credit though


Gotta get Healthy and make the playoffs

Thursday, March 19, 2009
Rockets 106, Pistons 101 (2 OT)
Weary Pistons run out of gas
Chris McCosky / The Detroit News

HOUSTON -- Another valiant effort by a weary and wounded Pistons team, but at this point in the season, valiant efforts aren't good enough.

The Pistons, suddenly sinking toward the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff bracket, need wins.

And despite one of their best efforts of the year Wednesday, they lost for the fourth time in five games, a heart-wrenching 106-101 double-overtime setback to the Houston Rockets.

The Pistons are now under .500 (33-34). They haven't had a losing record this late in the season since the 2000-2001 season.

"We just have to keep battling," coach Michael Curry said. "The effort we've had the last two nights will win you a lot of games, especially against teams we are better than. We didn't have this effort on Sunday (against Memphis) and we didn't have it last week against the Knicks. If we get our guys back and play with this type of fight, we will be fine."

This one, though, was especially tough to swallow.

The Pistons were playing their eighth game in 13 days -- three of the last five going into overtime -- and they were again without Richard Hamilton (groin), Rasheed Wallace (calf) and Allen Iverson (back).

Making it worse, they had control of the game late in regulation, and then had the last shot to win it in regulation.

Rodney Stuckey (21 points, 10 assists), who passed up the last shot in regulation, scored six straight points in the final 1:29 of the first overtime to force the second overtime.

But that was the Pistons' last gasp.

Yao Ming (31 points, 15 rebounds) scored six points in an 11-1 burst to open the second overtime to put the Pistons out for good.

"The most important thing is getting healthy," said Tayshaun Prince, who played 55 minutes. "We just have to get healthy because the longer guys are out, the more wear and tear there's going to be on me, Dyess (Antonio McDyess) and Stuckey.

"I am not taking anything away from those other guys, they played great and they are really helping us out. But we have to get our guys back. We have 15 games left and we've got to hit a winning streak sooner or later."

Arron Afflalo, starting again for Hamilton, scored 24 points on just 13 shots. McDyess had 14 points, 20 rebounds, three steals and three blocks.

Prince, coming off a 28-point effort in Dallas Tuesday, had no juice left. He finished with 12 points, but he missed 13 of 17 shots.

"I should have had (Curry) take me out of the game sooner," Prince said. "I missed so many easy shots."

The Pistons' best chance to win was in regulation.

Will Bynum scored six of his 10 points in the fourth and the Pistons were up 79-75 with 4:47 left when the well went dry. The Rockets inserted Ron Artest (26 points) back into the lineup at that point and suddenly the Pistons offense stalled. They went scoreless (0 for 5 with two turnovers) for the next 3:30.

The Rockets, meanwhile, put the ball in Yao's hands. He scored seven straight points to put the Rockets up 82-79 with 1:45 left.

After Stuckey scored basket and made one of two free throws to tie the game, McDyess stripped Luis Scola of the ball with 5.4 seconds.

Curry inserted Walter Herrmann, who had played just seven minutes and none in the fourth, into the game. Curry wanted him and Afflalo to spread the floor and open a driving lane for Stuckey.

Stuckey, though, made a quick pass to Herrmann, who missed a three-pointer.

"I would have liked for Stuckey to take that shot," Curry said. "You know, I am not comparing him to LeBron James, but I remember early in his career LeBron deferred a lot and people got on him about it."

"We wanted Stuckey to drive the ball, but he made the right basketball play. Walt was open and we got the last shot."

Said Stuckey, "It's crazy how frustrating it is. I'm trying to be aggressive as I can but I just ran out of gas. We fought as hard as we could."

The Pistons remain in the seventh spot in the East, a game and a half behind the 76ers, who lost in Phoenix Wednesday.

You can reach Chris McCosky at (313) 222-1489 or chris.mccosky@detnews.com.

Pistons hanging tough


But how much is left?

If they don't get healthy. they may miss the playoffs after all