Game 34: Detroit @ Denver // Fri. 9pm on\ FS Detroit HD

[Rodya]

now watch us get smoked by Utah on Wednesday...

Beating the Jazz in Utah would be enough to convince me that this team is destined to win the championship this year.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar ... 50444/1127

On Sunday in Phoenix, the Pistons played with playoff intensity.On Monday in Denver, the Pistons played with a predictable malaise. Until the final eight minutes, when the Pistons held on for a wild, 98-93 victory over the Denver Nuggets.

Chauncey Billups torched his hometown team in the fourth quarter, then nearly gave them a reprieve. He scored nine of his 20 points down the stretch, including a dead-eye, step-back 3-pointer that put the Pistons up 93-86 with 1:50 left.

Richard Hamilton lit the fire for the Pistons. He made three straight jumpers and scored eight straight points early in the fourth. He finished with 20 points and eight rebounds. Tayshaun Prince also scored 20, 12 in the first quarter.

[Warspite]

-= original quote snipped =-



Beating the Jazz in Utah would be enough to convince me that this team is destined to win the championship this year.

Agree 100%

Jazz are the Pistons killers.... Slay this dragon and go undefeated on this trip and there will be many a believer...

[Hunter]

I had to work tonight and missed the game. Glad we got the win, but I notice our starters minutes were a bit high. Was it just a case of Flip not trusting the bench in a close game, as per the norm?

Looks like Tay & Dice had very nice games though.

[nasty daddy]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=280225007

Chauncey Billups was hoping to redeem himself in front of his hometown crowd. J.R. Smith made it unnecessary. Billups' foul put Smith on the line with 6.5 seconds left and a chance to tie the game, but Smith missed two of three foul shots, allowing the Detroit Pistons to escape with a 98-93 win over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night.

Billups, a Denver native, beat Boston earlier this year by drawing a last-second foul and sinking two free throws, but Smith turned the tables on him Monday. With Detroit leading 95-92, Smith dribbled at the top of the key, got Billups off-balance and drew a foul on a 3-point attempt. "He made a good play. He got me off-balance with the crossover," said Billups, who scored 20 points. "I couldn't argue or nothing. The only thing I was thinking was, 'OK, it's 6.5 seconds, we're going to get it in and I'm going to make up for it.' He missed the shots, so it was great."

The Pistons started their four-game Western Conference road trip with wins over two of the top scoring teams in the NBA. They beat Phoenix, ranked No. 2, on Sunday, and squeaked by the Nuggets, No. 4 in scoring, Monday."This one was tougher because they came off two tough losses and we knew they were going to come out fighting and hungry," said Tayshaun Prince, who matched Hamilton and Billups with 20 points. "Defensively, we've been doing a good job of changing up our defense to give teams different looks."

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar ... 60396/1127

"I thought our defense was great," coach Flip Saunders said. "We held one of the best offensive teams to 36 percent and 93 points in their building -- that's pretty good."

"A lot of that was Tay and a lot of it was that we were changing our defenses," Saunders said. "We mixed zones with our man-to-man and tried to load up on him. But we've played two of the best offensive teams back-to-back on the road and kept them in the 90s. That's how you win on the road."

Billups, Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince each scored 20 points. McDyess, who was defended by Carmelo Anthony for long stretches, produced 16 points and 13 rebounds.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.mlive.com/pistons/index.ssf/ ... ggets.html

The Detroit Pistons still are a man-to-man defensive team, but they have shown the ability to mix it up with some zone and an occasional double team. The Pistons used just about every defensive trick at their disposal, all of which were needed, as they held on to defeat the Denver Nuggets, 98-93 on Monday night.

Denver, led by two of the league's most explosive scorers in Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson, shot just 36 percent from the field. Anthony and Iverson were a combined 15-of-39 from the field. In the pivotal fourth quarter, Denver's dynamic duo missed five of their six shots from the field. "And to hold a team like that to 93 points in their building is pretty good," Detroit coach Flip Saunders said.

Tayshaun Prince, one of three Pistons to score 20 points, talked about how the Pistons switched their defense when Anthony and Iverson got on a roll. Detroit played some zone, did some tilting, and, at times, even double-teamed the two All-Stars. That forced other Nuggets, such as Linas Kleiza (eight points) and J.R. Smith (13 points), to make plays. "But once we went back to man, we were able to get key stops and make some shots on the offensive end," Prince said.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.mlive.com/pistons/index.ssf/ ... ggets.html

The Nuggets had a new coach Monday. Former Piston Adrian Dantley stepping into the hot seat, replacing George Karl , who was out sick, for the night.

"It's different being the head guy," said Dantley, who is 1-1 as an emergency fill-in. "I am a guy who will play the core guys a lot more. It's tough. I don't want those sub guys getting mad at me. But that's the difference. As a head coach, you have to worry about playing time. As an assistant, you get to be buddies with the guys."

Dantley averaged 20.3 points over 2 1/2 seasons with the Pistons (1986-1988).

[nasty daddy]

http://www.mlive.com/pistons/index.ssf/ ... _game.html

STUDS: Tayshaun Prince set the tone early with 12 first-quarter points, before finishing with 20 points and nine assists. Allen Iverson remains one of the league's best all-around players, as he scored a game-high 28 points against Detroit.SOLID: Richard Hamilton is looking more like his old self lately. He had 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Carmelo Anthony didn't have a great game, but 23 points, 11 rebounds and five assists isn't too shabby, either.

DUDS: Jarvis Hayes was scoreless, missing all three of his shot attempts while picking up four personal fouls in about 10 minutes of work. Marcus Camby missed seven of his eight shot attempts and finished with four points.SUPER SUB: The Pistons didn't get much from their bench, although Rodney Stuckey did make a couple of big shots before finishing with six points, three assists and two rebounds.

UP NEXT: Wednesday at Utah. The Pistons are fortunate to get a day off before playing Utah, a team that seems to always give them trouble, home or away. Kyle Korver has been a huge plus for the Jazz since he arrived, and it'll be important for Richard Hamilton to make Korver work hard on the defensive end, which should then take away a little bit from his game offensively.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.mlive.com/sportsflash/index. ... ichigannba

The Nuggets, playing without head coach George Karl, lost their third straight. Assistant coach Adrian Dantley led the team because Karl missed the game with the flu. "Of course it was different," guard Allen Iverson, who had a game-high 28 points, said of Karl's absence." He's the captain of our ship."

Despite not having Karl, the Nuggets had a chance to win. They led 78-77 with 8:17 left, but that's when Richard Hamilton got aggressive. Hamilton scored six of his 20 points in a little more than a minute to give the Pistons the lead for good.

"We knew that we had to dig deep and if we made a couple of plays, good things would happen," Hamilton said. "Either team. Whoever made a quick run would win the game because the game was at a standstill."

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/DETDEN_ ... recap.html

It was nothing like the blowout win at Phoenix to start their four-game Western road swing, but it was every bit as welcome. The Pistons ground one out at Denver

[Liqourish]

I had to work tonight and missed the game. Glad we got the win, but I notice our starters minutes were a bit high. Was it just a case of Flip not trusting the bench in a close game, as per the norm?

Looks like Tay & Dice had very nice games though.

Stuckey and Amir were getting fouls called on them late, but all the Pistons were during this time so I don't get why they came out for them. Jarvis played like crap though. He should have been pulled sooner. But Herrmann should have went in so Tay could have rested. Tay sat on the bench for all of 3 minutes to start the fourth before Flip put him back in. Afflalo was actually staying in front of Iverson and playing him nicely... I have no clue why he only played 7 minutes.

There is no excuse for playing 4 of our 5 starters 36+ minutes on the second night of a back to back when your bench isn't being awful. Sure they couldn't sustain a lead against Iverson/Melo.... but neither could the starters.

[nasty daddy]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basket ... Type=recap

Despite not having Karl, the Nuggets had a chance to win. They led 78-77 with 8:17 left, but that's when Richard Hamilton got aggressive. Hamilton scored six of his 20 points in a little more than a minute to give the Pistons the lead for good.

''We knew that we had to dig deep and if we made a couple of plays, good things would happen,'' Hamilton said. ''Either team. Whoever made a quick run would win the game because the game was at a standstill.''

''That's why he's Mr. Big Shot,'' Detroit head coach Flip Saunders said.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/ ... 6298.shtml

Another big offensive night might have been anticipated against Denver, which ranks 27th in points allowed. Instead, the game turned into a possessionby-possession battle where the Pistons' brute defense bubbled to the top.

Their changing defenses threw a defensive blanket over the high-flying Nuggets, holding them to 36 percent shooting, as the Pistons won their third straight, 98-93, Monday night. Their four-game West Coast journey resumes in Utah Wednesday.

"You try not to turn it over too much," Chauncey Billups said. "When they get turnovers, they've got a lot of great athletes and they can turn them into points fast, especially at home. They're super explosive at home. We just wanted to try to post them up and make them play some defense, not get into a run-and-gun type of game because that's to their advantage."