http://www.freep.com/article/20090330/S ... s+old+teamAllen Iverson returns, Pistons beat his former team
The Pistons picked up their first home win on a Sunday in nine tries this season, coming back to beat the 76ers, 101-97, at the Palace. Allen Iverson, who missed the previous 16 games with a sore back, came off the bench to score eight points in 21:04. The Pistons came back from deficits in each of the first three quarters. They took control of the game for good with a 14-2 run in the fourth quarter. Will Bynum, who had three points heading into the fourth quarter, scored nine in the fourth to help turn the tide. Tayshuan Prince, who scored 19 points in the first half on 7-for-7 shooting, finished with a team-high 21 points. Rodney Stuckey added 16, Richard Hamilton had 14 points and seven assists and Kwame Brown scored 13 for the Pistons. “It was great,” said Pistons coach Michael Curry of the victory. “I felt good about it, especially it being a back-to-back.” The Pistons won in Washington, 98-96 on Saturday night, in a game that marked the return of Richard Hamilton from a groin strain. “Bodies were live, guys were much better and it was a good game for us to get,” Curry said. “It was a tough team for us to play, especially on a back-to-back. They’re young and athletic.
They’re not just athletic but they’re fast. The difference is you can play athletic guys but Andre (Iguodala) and Thaddeus Young really get out and run. They are as fast as any wings in the league. Any time we turned the ball over, they are out and running and making it difficult to get back. Wedid a much better job the second half taking care of the basketball and that’s what gave us the chance to win.” After making nine turnovers in the first half, the Pistons had two the rest of the game. Iguodala scored a game-high 27 points and seven rebounds and Young added 22 points and eight rebounds. But those two combined for eight points in the fourth quarter. “I thought it was a hard-fought game and unfortunately, we came up on the short end of the stick tonight,” said 76ers coach Tony Dileo. “We tried to be aggressive in the fourth quarter and take it to the basket but, for whatever reason, we just couldn’t get free throws. I thought we tried to play aggressive the whole game but the Pistons made some big shots coming down the stretch.”
Samuel Dalembert didn’t play the final three quarters for the 76ers due to a calf strain and the Pistons ended up with a 35-34 rebounding edge. “That hurt our rebounding,” Dileo said. “He is our best rebounder. Maybe with him in there we could have gotten a couple more rebounds out there. Then defensively, we missed the shot blocking. Saying that, though, I think that Theo (Ratliff) did a really good job tonight coming in and playing.” Ratliff, a former Piston, had five rebounds and nine points in 23:30. Igoudala said the Pistons took advantage of the momentum in the fourth quarter. “We thought that we might have had the game (won) and then things changed momentum and they got back in it,” he said. “Will Bynum made some big shots and I guess they played tough defense down the stretch in the fourth quarter. They were just converting what they needed to. “We were up in the third after we made a good run, but it is a game of runs. We made ours and then they came right back and made theirs to turn it around. It was a 10-point swing...they just made some key plays.”