http://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 50477/1127Pistons fall just short in eighth straight loss
Rasheed Wallace heated up, finally, but then he quickly crashed and burned and he took the Pistons with him. A classic Wallace meltdown in the fourth quarter -- he will be suspended for the game Friday in Orlando -- sent the New Orleans Hornets on their way to a wild 90-87 victory Wednesday. With Wallace out, the Pistons could not get a defensive rebound to secure a chance to steal a victory. Down by a point in the final 24 seconds, the Hornets grabbed two defensive rebounds, which led to two free throws by David West and a 90-87 lead with 6.7 seconds left. The Pistons, after a timeout, inserted Walter Herrmann, who played only three minutes in the second half. He missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer. David West had 30 points and 10 rebounds. Chris Paul had 20 points and 13 assists and Tyson Chandler had 10 points and 17 rebounds. The Hornets outrebounded the Pistons, 51-38. Richard Hamilton scored 24 to lead the Pistons, who also played most of the game without Allen Iverson.
The losing streak is now at eight. The last time the Pistons lost eight straight games was from Dec. 21 to Jan. 13, back in the 1994-95 season. They have now lost 17 of 22 since Jan. 10 and have fallen to seventh place in the East. Wallace had rallied the Pistons, scoring 12 points in the third quarter. He hit a 3-pointer to open the fourth that put the Pistons up, 67-65. Then the trouble started. He missed three straight shots. Then, with the score tied at 71-71, he had a defensive rebound slapped away by the Hornets' Sean Marks. The ball went to West, who scored the putback. Wallace argued that he was fouled and referee Bill Kennedy slapped him with a technical foul. That was No. 15 for Wallace. He got No. 16, which brings an automatic suspension, 27 seconds later. Kennedy called another foul on Wallace and coach Michael Curry subbed him out of the game.Wallace wanted to stay in the game and was angry when he went to the bench. Fans were on him good and he hurled a towel into the stands -- automatic technical foul. Before leaving, Wallace hurled another towel in the direction of Kennedy, which could cost him an additional game and certainly more money. The result of all that -- six straight points by the Hornets -- had the Pistons down, 78-71, with 7:32 left. But the Pistons kept fighting. They were without Allen Iverson (back) and Wallace, but four points by Hamilton and a 3-pointer by Tayshaun Prince had the Pistons within two with four minutes left.
After Chandler missed two free throws, Jason Maxiell, after running down two offensive rebounds, scored a layup to tie the game, 82-82, with 2:46 left. Paul scored four straight points, but Antonio McDyess countered with a three-point play, another possession saved by Maxiell. But they needed one more possession and they never got it. The Pistons were down, 20-11, when Iverson left the game eight minutes into the first quarter. His back, injured Tuesday night in Miami, stiffened and he didn't return. But a funny thing happened after Iverson left. The Pistons rallied. After scoring 13 points and shooting 30 percent in the first quarter, the Pistons scored 29 points and shot 57 percent in the second. They cut an 11-point deficit to one by the end of the half. Hamilton played as if he was unleashed. He had 14 points in the half. The Pistons also got a boost from Will Bynum, who had two steals and four assists and raised the team's intensity level. But if the Pistons were going to avoid a repeat of the loss in Miami, the defense would have to stiffen. The Hornets shot 50 percent in the first half. David West (12 points) and Peja Stojakovic (11) made 10 of 17 shots. Paul didn't have to shoot, content to distribute eight assists.