http://www.mlive.com/pistons/index.ssf/ ... _shor.htmlImpressive rally comes up short as Pistons lose to Pacers for third time this season
Rodney Stuckey looked good. Overall, the Detroit Pistons looked great, but only in the fourth quarter. The Pistons trailed by 24 points before they rallied to take a lead late in the game Friday night, but the Indiana Pacers responded with a late run and pulled out a 106-102 victory. The Pistons have lost all three of their games against the Pacers this season and have lost 11 of their past 13 games overall. "I thought our guys played in the second half the way we're supposed to," Pistons coach John Kuester said. "We defended and played hard." The Pistons trailed by 17 entering the fourth quarter, but outscored Indiana 25-7 to start the fourth and took a 95-94 lead on a jumper by rookie forward DaJuan Summers with 2:33 left in the game. The Pacers scored the next eight points and held on from there. "The bottom line, you have to make the plays at the end," Kuester said. "We didn't do that." Stuckey came off the bench and had 25 points, three assists and three steals in his first game since collapsing on the bench March 5 during a game against Cleveland. "He feels comfortable now," Kuester said. "I thought his energy was great."
Stuckey played almost 27 minutes, which was more than he expected. "I feel all right," he said. "The plan wasn't to play all those minutes, but it was just in the heat of the game. I feel fine. Everything was good." Summers had 10 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter and teamed with Ben Gordon, who had 14 in the fourth, to help bring the Pistons back. "I am very proud of him," Kuester said of Summers. "He's worked real hard in practice. But, more importantly, he had poise. He got shots that I thought were in the flow of the game." Summers was thrilled to contribute. "Just being out there, just having fun, just loving to play basketball," Summers said. "Whenever I'm out there, I'll cherish every moment. I'm just taking my opportunities and making the best of it." Ben Wallace came off the bench after missing the previous eight games with a right patella tendon strain. He finished with one point and seven rebounds. Wallace left in the game in the fourth quarter after tweaking his knee. "He bumped knees," Kuester said. "To what extent, I'll find out later. He was frustrated because he wanted to be in the game. Plus, he had done a great job defensively getting us extra possessions and really cleaning up the boards."
Gordon had 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists for Detroit, and Tayshaun Prince had 11 points. Jonas Jerebko had 10 points and six rebounds, and Jason Maxiell 10 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots. Richard Hamilton went 0-for-3 from the field and finished with zero points in 18 minutes played. It was the first time he had gone scoreless in a game since Nov. 4, 2000. "He just had an off night," Kuester said when asked if Hamilton was healthy. "There's nothing wrong with Rip." Danny Granger led the Pacers with 29 points and six assists. Troy Murphy went 4-for-7 on 3-pointers and finished with 20 points and eight rebounds. Early on, it looked as if the Pacers would bury the Pistons with a barrage of 3-pointers. Five Pacers players made 3-pointers in the first half. Indiana jumped out to a 21-6 lead, and the Pacers held a double-digit lead from that early spurt until midway through the fourth quarter. The Pacers went 12-for-22 (54.5 percent) on 3-pointers in the game and have made 31 3-pointers in three games against the Pistons this season.
