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ALLEN IVERON FIGHTS A PAIN IN HIS BACK VS NUGGETS
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March 3, 2009
- the Pistons have been struggling since trading Billups to Denver for Allen Iverson.
"It's just sad to see we're 30-29,'' Pistons guard Richard Hamilton said. Tayshaun Prince
scored 23 points for the Pistons and four of his teammates scored at least 16, attacking
with a balanced offense perhaps not coincidentally because Iverson missed his third straight
game with a back injury. As awful as Detroit has been at times, it became the first team in
the NBA to beat each of the division leaders with Sunday's win at Boston. And now, it has
beaten the Northwest Division-leading Nuggets twice.
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Detroit is six games under .500 with Iverson in the starting lineup, where Curry said the superstar
will not return when his back is healthy enough for him to play. Iverson is scheduled for an examination
Wednesday. Hamilton, who will bump Iverson to the bench, scored 21 points against Denver. Chauncey Billups
got the warm welcome he deserved and the Detroit Pistons won a game they needed. Billups scored a season-high
34 points in his return to suburban Detroit, but the Pistons came away with the 100-95 victory Tuesday night
against the Carmelo Anthony-less Denver Nuggets.
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ALLEN IVERSON PHOTOS
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PISTONS VS. NUGGETS
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The red-white-and-blue clad fans still adore Billups for the 2004 NBA title he led Detroit to as
finals MVP and for being its leader during a run of six straight trips to the Eastern Conference
finals. His introduction with a signature - "Buh! Buh! Buh! Billups! - set off a standing ovation
that lasted a couple of minutes and led to him blowing kisses in each direction. Billups said it was
the most emotional regular season game he's experienced in his 12-year career. "I may forget the game
and what happened,'' he said. "But the ovation and warm welcome the fans gave me, I'll never forget.''
Forgive the Pistons if they can't recall what it's like to win a few games in a row or a single one at home. - NBA.com
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ALLEN IVERON FAILS TO LEAD PISTONS PAST CAVS
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February 22, 2009
- "We stunk the gym out,'' said Allen Iverson, who led the Pistons with 14 points. "We acted like strangers out there tonight.''
The Pistons are all of those things right now. They still haven't adjusted to playing with Allen Iverson. Their execution has been
atrocious at both ends of the floor. They have been beaten by any and all opponents. This is where it comes back to Iverson, fair or not.
Truly, it isn't Iverson's fault. He has played basketball one way for 13 seasons. He has amassed more than 23,000 points and 10 All-Star
appearances doing it. The Pistons knew who and what he was when they traded for him and they did not expect him to change when he got here.
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They expected him to play better than he has, certainly. But they knew what they were getting. They knew they were going to have to alter
their defense to protect his deficiencies. They knew they were going to have to make a hard decision with Richard Hamilton, having him come
off the bench, because they knew they had to have a point guard on the floor (Rodney Stuckey). What they couldn't have known was that it
just wouldn't work. And it doesn't work, as the present six-game losing streak and the freefall back to .500 (27-27) attests. Even when Iverson
plays his best, like he did against San Antonio, the rest of the players on the floor with him become statues.
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ALLEN IVERSON PHOTOS
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PISTONS VS. CAVALIERS
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They stand around and watch Iverson skittering all over the floor, probing for a shot. They've never had to play that way.
They aren't very good at it and they don't like it. So down the stretch, the Spurs, like all good teams will do, forced the
ball out of his hands and no other Piston could make a winning play. It's worse on defense. The Pistons built their foundation
on trust and accountability at the defensive end. They have run a lot of good players out of here (Maurice Evans and Jarvis Hayes
to name two) because of their inability to hold their own defensively. - Chris McCosky / The Detroit News
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ALLEN IVERON MISSES A GAME TYING 3 POINTER AT THE BUZZER
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February 19, 2009
- Allen Iverson led all scorers with 31 points, and Antonio McDyess added 13 points and 13 rebounds. San Antonio
led 64-58 going into the fourth, and although the Pistons got as close as three, George Hill's fast-break dunk made
it 73-66 with 6:35 left. Detroit rallied again, and Iverson's jumper pulled the Pistons within 78-77 with 3 minutes
to play. Two stops gave the Pistons a pair of chances to take the lead, and Iverson took advantage of the second with
a layup with 1:21 to go. Rasheed Wallace fouled Parker, who gave San Antonio a 80-79 lead from the line, and Iverson
missed at the other end. McDyess hurdled the Spurs bench to save the rebound, but Michael Finley grabbed the loose ball.
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Parker's jumper bounced off the rim, and Wallace grabbed the rebound with 28 seconds left, but missed a
fadeaway over Duncan. "We had Rasheed with a good look at a 17-footer in a one-point game,'' Curry said.
"That's what you want.'' Bruce Bowen grabbed the rebound, and was fouled while frantically trying to call
a timeout. Despite coming into the game shooting 47 percent from the line, he hit both shots to make it
82-79 with 9.7 seconds left. "Bruce is a real pro,'' Popovich said. "He doesn't start for us, but he does
whatever we ask. He guarded Rip (Hamilton) for a while, he guarded Allen for a while, and he did a great job.''
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ALLEN IVERSON PHOTOS
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PISTONS VS. SPURS
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Iverson missed a tying 3-pointer and Duncan clinched the game from the free-throw line. "I couldn't have
gotten a better look - I've got to come up with that one,'' Iverson said. "I had more time than I thought,
and I rushed it.'' Duncan had seven points and eight rebounds in the fourth quarter, helping the Spurs break
a three-game road losing streak. "Tim is the base to everything we do,'' San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said.
"He rebounded and he got some buckets, and that's what we needed.'' Tony Parker added 19 points and 11 assists
for the Spurs, who are 4-3 on an eight-game road trip. - NBA.com
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ALLEN IVERON NEEDS PISTONS TO PLAY AS A TEAM
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February 18, 2009
- "You are supposed to play your best basketball at home, and we obviously aren't doing that,'' Allen Iverson said.
"I don't think there's any focus. It's easy to be focused when you are on the road and have 20,000 of their fans cheering
against you, but you can't come home and expect your fans to win the games for you. They help, but you've got to play.''
The Bucks overcame 24 points and 14 rebounds from Antonio McDyess to pull within two games of Detroit in the Eastern
Conference standings. Malik Allen added a season-high 14 points for Milwaukee, which won its third straight. "Our guys were
flawless when it came to executing the game plan,'' Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles said. "We got up on their shooters, which
we didn't do last week. We contested shots and made them miss.''
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Richard Hamilton had 22 points for the Pistons, who have lost four straight. "People look at this team and see
three faces from the 2004 championship, but this is a different team,'' Detroit coach Michael Curry said. "We've
tried some things to get this team more used to playing well here, but we just aren't playing good basketball
anywhere right now.'' Curry juggled the starting lineup again, putting McDyess in place of Amir Johnson, but it
didn't help in the first half. Milwaukee led by as many as 17 on their way to a 50-37 halftime lead. Jefferson had
19 points in the half. The Pistons continued to struggle offensively in the third quarter, but were still within 11
points until Malik Allen's buzzer-beating jumper gave the Bucks a 74-61 lead going into the final period.
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ALLEN IVERSON PHOTOS
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PISTONS VS. BUCKS
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Milwaukee had a double-digit lead with 8 minutes left, but the Pistons pulled within 80-79
on McDyess' three-point play 2 minutes later. Sessions, who had 44 points against the Pistons
on Feb. 7, helped Detroit by missing two free throws, but Jefferson kept Milwaukee in front with
a three-point play and a 3-pointer. McDyess made it 88-86 with a minute to play, but Jefferson
made one free throw at the other end. Stuckey missed a short jumper, and the Bucks clinched the
game from the line. "We had a three or four-minute stretch where we slipped up a bit, but it wasn't
much,'' Skiles said. "We relied on our defense, got some stops when we needed them and fought for the win.'' - NBA.com
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ALLEN IVERON SICK WITH FLU CAN'T HELP HIS TEAM
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February 10, 2009
- Allen Iverson is not the type of player who misses many games due to injuries. So the flu-like bug that kept him out of
Tuesday's game against Chicago must be a doozy. "Arnie (Kander, Detroit's strength and conditioning coach) gave him some
medicine, and he didn't feel any better," Pistons coach Michael Curry said. "So Arnie just ruled him out tonight." Curry
said Iverson's status will be re-evaluated prior to tonight's game against the Atlanta Hawks. Iverson was not the only player
dealing with flu-like symptoms. Will Bynum was limited at the morning shootaround with a similar ailment.
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Ryan Hoover, Detroit's director of player development, also reported flu-like symptoms. Like Iverson, he was
not at United Center with the players and staff. Both were expected to meet the Pistons at the team plane after
the game. Curry initially said Richard Hamilton, who has led the Pistons in scoring each of the past six seasons,
was going to start in Iverson's absence. Instead, a last-minute decision was made to start Arron Afflalo. Playing
their first home game since Jan. 23, the Bulls trailed 100-90 with about 3 1/2 minutes left. But with Michael Jordan
and Scottie Pippen watching, they showed some of their old mettle and finished on a 17-2 run. The Bulls scored nine straight to make
it a one-point game before Rasheed Wallace buried two free throws with a minute left, making it 102-99. But Chicago
scored the final eight points.
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ALLEN IVERSON PHOTOS
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PISTONS VS. BULLS
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Rose drove for a layup to pull the Bulls back within one with 46 seconds left. After Wallace forced a wild corner jumper,
the Bulls grabbed the lead. Wallace then blocked a drive by Rose, but he got the rebound and found Gordon (24 points), who
buried the go-ahead 3-pointer as Rodney Stuckey fouled him. Both players got knocked to the court. While Gordon popped up
and buried the free throw to make it 105-102 with 16.7 seconds left, Stuckey left the game. "He's not going to miss the open
shot,'' Rose said. The Pistons' Richard Hamilton then drove along the right side and tried to dish off to Antonio McDyess
underneath, but he couldn't handle the pass, resulting in a turnover. Andres Nocioni then hit two free throws for Chicago with
9.9 seconds left for the final score, and Joakim Noah then stole Arron Afflalo's pass. The Pistons simply walked away confused
and disappointed. - NBA.com
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ALLEN IVERON IS CLUTCH IN OVERTIME VICTORY
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February 7, 2009
- Allen Iverson, who also had nine assists, helped the Pistons to their second straight gritty win following a 3-9 stretch that
they stopped with a win against Miami. He and Hamilton led the way when it counted. "We were cognizant that Rip had the hot hand,
so obviously our thing was to make sure he got the ball,'' Iverson said. "When they tried to take away what stuff Rip did, we got
success with me and the big guys up top with the pick and roll. We were scoring effectively every trip down the court.'' Still, this
one came down to the wire, twice. Ramon Sessions scored 20 of his career-high 44 in the fourth quarter and overtime and put Milwaukee
up for the final time when he hit two free throws that made it 121-120 with 46 seconds left. "It was my career high, I was wishing
we could've gotten the win instead of those 44 points,'' said Sessions, who added 12 assists. "We had them in a tough bind, but they
got the win, so at the end that's really all that matters.''
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Iverson answered when he stepped back on a drive and hit a 14-footer. Newly acquired Keith Bogans missed a 15-footer for the Bucks
with 15 seconds to play, and Hamilton hit two free throws to make it 124-121. The Bucks' last chance to tie ended when Richard Jefferson,
who finished with 16 points, missed a 3-pointer from the corner with 6.2 seconds left and Hamilton added two more free throws to end
it. "Those two, All-Star caliber guys, Hall of Fame-type guys you're talking about right there,'' Sessions said. "They're a great team
and those guys hit big shots when they were supposed to.'' Hamilton said he and Iverson provided a good balance of scoring. "It was a
great counter off each other,'' Hamilton said. "When one of us got tired, or whatever, the other guy picked it up.'' Detroit's Rasheed
Wallace scored 27 points, including a career-high seven 3-pointers, and Antonio McDyess had 16, while Tayshaun Prince added seven points,
nine assists and 13 rebounds. Charlie Villaneuva scored 33 points and Charlie Bell had 10 points for Milwaukee.
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ALLEN IVERSON PHOTOS
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PISTONS VS. BUCKS
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Sessions, the starting point guard because Luke Ridnour will miss the next four weeks with a broken right
thumb, kept the Bucks ahead despite also missing Michael Redd (knee) and Andrew Bogut (back) to long-term
injuries. Sessions gave Milwaukee a 102-96 lead with 3:46 to play by weaving past three defenders and converting
a three-point play after his layup. "He was awesome,'' said Hamilton, who had a chance to win it at the
buzzer. "Forty-four points by a point guard against us is crazy. We've got to do a better job than that.
We should have switched it up more when he got into a rhythm.'' But Detroit came back because of Hamilton,
who hit two jumpers in a row to give the Pistons a 109-108 lead with 26 seconds left. Sessions drove to the
basket and was fouled, hitting the second of two to tie the game, but both teams squandered opportunities to
win it with turnovers before Hamilton missed an open 17-footer in transition as time expired. "We couldn't stop
them,'' Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. "They scored 47 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. ... You have to
play a perfect game if that's going to happen.'' - NBA.com
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ALLEN IVERON SCORES 11 IN CLOSE WIN OVER HEAT
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February 4, 2009
- Rodney Stuckey hit two jumpers in the final 90 seconds to help the Detroit Pistons beat the Miami Heat 93-90 on Wednesday night.
Stuckey and Rasheed Wallace had 18 points each for Detroit, while Antonio McDyess added a season-high 17 rebounds. Dwyane Wade led
Miami with 29 points and 13 assists. With the game tied at 85, Stuckey hit a short jumper with 1:22 left to put Detroit ahead, but
Wallace fouled Michael Beasley at the other end. Beasley hit both free throws to tie it, but Stuckey hit an off-balance bank shot
over Wade to put Detroit back in front. McDyess stole the ball from Beasley, and Wallace appeared to put the game away with a 3-pointer,
especially when Wade was then called for a technical foul for throwing the ball into the stands.
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Tayshaun Prince, though, missed the free throw and Wade hit a 3-pointer to make it 92-90 with 18 seconds left.
Richard Hamilton, an 87-percent shooter from the line, then missed two free throws and Wade grabbed the rebound.
After a timeout, Wade missed a wild baseline jumper, but Arron Afflalo gave the Heat one last chance by only
splitting his free throws. The game then ended on a bizarre note when Prince stopped to argue with the officials
while Wade dribbled down the floor to attempt a desperation 3-pointer that bounced off the rim at the buzzer.
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ALLEN IVERSON PHOTOS
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PISTONS VS. HEAT
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Detroit led 45-42 at the half, despite not getting a steal or a blocked shot in the first two quarters. The Pistons also forced
just two turnovers, but outshot the Heat 52 percent to 36 percent. The Pistons started the third with a 14-4 run, expanding their
margin to 13, but couldn't put the Heat away. Wade's 3-pointer pulled Miami to 62-60 late in the period, only to have Prince answer
with two triples of his own. That let Detroit take a 70-62 lead into the fourth, but Beasley's fast-break dunk tied the game at 76
with 7:35 left. - NBA.com
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ALLEN IVERON CAN'T STOP LEBRON JAMES IN THE END
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February 1, 2009
- LeBron James was a cheerleader when the Cleveland Cavaliers took over against the Detroit Pistons. Then, the superstar
finished them off. James scored 33 points and got some timely help from Mo Williams and Daniel Gibson in Cleveland's 90-80
win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday. "It's been different this season because we have guys who can control the offense
and control the defense,'' James said. "There's not been a time this season when I felt pressure to not come off the floor.
"I know these guys can take care of things.'' With James resting, Williams and Gibson outscored Detroit by themselves in a
15-2 run to take a 73-68 lead early in the fourth quarter. James shouted, "C'mon Mo! C'mon Mo!'' from the scorer's table
during the final possession of the winning surge, then celebrated with Williams after his jumper led to Detroit calling a
timeout. The 24-year-old phenom sealed the victory on a driving layup, an assist, 3-pointer and free throw to put the Cavs
ahead by nine with 2 1/2 minutes left. The Central Division-leading Cavs have won six of their last seven and are 12 games
ahead of Detroit. They had lost four straight at The Palace in the regular season.
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"This is a good win in a building where we've always had a lot of trouble,'' Cavs coach Mike Brown said. "It seems like they've had our
number here, so this feels good.'' The Pistons haven't felt good in a while, losing four straight home games for the first time in eight
years. Allen Iverson scored 22 points for Detroit, which has lost nine of 12 and are 21-21 with him. "I'm surprised, but I've seen the
flashes of how good we can be,'' Iverson said. "And, I see the reasons that we lose games.'' Detroit has wins against five of the NBA's
six division leaders, beating the Western Conference's top teams on the road, but has lost to bad teams such as the Oklahoma City Thunder.
"Our whole thing is, it better be figured out by the time we get to the playoffs,'' Iverson said. "Regardless of where we're seeded, we need
to be playing at a high level and that's the only thing I'm concerned about.'' Rookie coach Michael Curry, though, has plenty to be worried
about. "Success breeds confidence,'' he said. Detroit dooms its chances in many games with lackluster stretches offensively and defensively,
looking out of sync as they struggle to play with Iverson in the starting lineup and Richard Hamilton coming off the bench. The Pistons are
coming off their first losing month since February 2004, the month in which they acquired Rasheed Wallace and went on to win the NBA title.
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ALLEN IVERSON PHOTOS
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PISTONS VS. CAVALIERS
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But they're "totally different'' than that team, according to a player who would know because of the Iverson-for-Billups trade.
"Billups brought a lot of leadership to the team and made sure everybody got the ball where they needed to get it,'' Cleveland's
Ben Wallace said. "He was more of a floor general. Iverson is more of a scorer. Chauncey would make sure everybody got their looks
and if he needed to score, he would. "It definitely hurt the chemistry of the team. I guess it'll take a little getting used to.''
The Cavs have grown accustom to having more than a go-to player. Williams, who has become James' best sidekick on the perimeter,
scored 22 points and Gibson scored all seven of his points in the fourth. "It makes it easier for (James) because you can't leave
Mo,'' Iverson said. "But it's not just Mo.'' Cleveland's Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting, playing his second
game after being sidelined for 13 games with an ankle injury. The Cavs have been unbeatable at home through 22 games and solid on
the road, winning 15 of 24. "Any road win is special, but the rivalry we have with these guys adds some fire,'' James said. Wallace
scored just nine points and Rodney Stuckey only six. Hamilton scored 16 points, Tayshaun Prince had 11 and Amir Johnson scored 10
points for the first time in a month. Cleveland led 18-16 after a sluggish first quarter, then trailed by three at halftime. - NBA.com
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