Game 45: Pistons @ Pacers // Tues. 7pm on FSN Detroit

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/games/20080129/DETIND/boxscore.html

[HeroicKennedy]

Stuckey returning to form.

7 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds

[nasty daddy]

3rd straight win. Our bench came up big for us in this one, led by Hayes, Stuckey, Amir and Afflao.

[ajaX82]

^ you are correct Nasty, the bench was splendid. Amir looks more comfortable. I just wish Flip would stop sitting him at the top of the key while he watches the offense unfold instead of putting him in the post. unbelievable

Stuckey was back to form. Even though he missed some layups he penetrated and looked much better.

[bstein14]

Amir was very solid. Watching him play he just seems like he could be such a great player in a few years.

I really hope he has the work ethic because he has the athletic ability.

It's going to be interesting to see where this team's front court is in 2 years.

[RTM]

This is how I hope we play every night (well, if the D was a bit tighter...). Great production from both our starters and bench, and Sheed played great.

I'm really happy to see Amir out there. This is the only way he's ever going to develop and figure things out!

[nasty daddy]

http://www.mlive.com/pistons/index.ssf/ ... s_104.html

Rasheed Wallace had 24 points and 10 rebounds to help the Detroit Pistons beat the Indiana Pacers 110-104 on Tuesday night.

Tayshaun Prince scored 17 points and Chauncey Billups added 13 points and eight assists for the Pistons, who won their third straight game.

Mike Dunleavy led Indiana with 25 points and seven assists. Travis Diener scored 18 points and Jeff Foster had 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Pacers, who have lost four in a row.

[hoophabit]

Putting Amir at the top of the key sometimes isn't all bad. He passes rather well for a big.

[HeroicKennedy]

Amir is defintely playing well right now.

He's averaging 5 boards a game over the last three games, and 4.3 points per game if I recall correctly, all on only about 10-13 minutes a game.

[nasty daddy]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=280129011

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Rasheed Wallace had 24 points and 10 rebounds to help the Detroit Pistons beat the Indiana Pacers 110-104 on Tuesday night.

Tayshaun Prince scored 17 points and Chauncey Billups added 13 points and eight assists for the Pistons, who won their third straight game.

Mike Dunleavy led Indiana with 25 points and seven assists. Travis Diener scored 18 points and Jeff Foster had 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Pacers, who have lost four in a row.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.mlive.com/pistons/index.ssf/ ... ame_1.html

STUDS: This was a pretty easy one tonight. Rasheed Wallace was unstoppable tonight, scoring a team-high 24 points to go with 10 rebounds for his eighth double-double this season. Mike Dunleavy has to be given some thought for the league's Most Improved Player award. He led all scorers with 25 points to go with seven rebounds and seven assists.SOLID: Antonio McDyess is quietly putting together a solid season for Detroit. His 10 points and game-high 13 rebounds gave him a team-leading 11th double-double this season. Travis Diener is making the most of his opportunity to play with Jamaal Tinsley (left knee) sidelined. He had 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting tonight.

DUDS: This was one of those rare nights when everyone who stepped on the floor for Detroit, made a solid contribution of some sort. The same could not be said for the Pacers. They were especially bad during David Harrisons' three minutes and 42 seconds of action. He missed both of his shots, committed two personal fouls and was among the Indiana players who could not defend Rasheed Wallace.SUPER SUB: Jarvis Hayes needed a night like this, in the worst way. He had 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting. The Pacers got a nice lift from Kareem Rush who had nine points, all of which came on 3-pointers.

UP NEXT: Thursday vs. the Los Angeles Lakers. The Pistons are playing good basketball, a claim the Lakers can also make. Kobe Bryant is having an MVP-caliber season, but doesn't always play his best against Detroit. It'll be interesting to see if the multiple contributions made by Pistons tonight, can carry over into Thursday's game against one of the league's biggest surprises this season.

[nasty daddy]

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

The Pistons escaped Conseco Fieldhouse with their second narrow win this season thanks to a dominant performance by Rasheed Wallace. = Detroit trailed 18-8 out of the gate continued to play from behind until Wallace sparked a late first-half rally. Leading by two at halftime, the Pistons could not pull away from the Pacers, who shot an uncanny 50 percent from beyond the arc, draining five of their 12 triples in the third quarter. Still leading by two, Wallace knocked down his only 3-pointer with 3:43 remaining. He then blocked Danny Granger

[nasty daddy]

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

Detroit Pistons coach Flip Saunders has been hesitant to play Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell together for long stretches. Performances like the one in Tuesday's 110-104 win against Indiana might change his mind. They were part of a second quarter surge by a Detroit bench which helped turn a double-digit deficit into a two-point lead at the half.

Saunders' reluctance to play the youthful big men together stems from their struggles on the boards. That was not a problem against the Pacers, as Johnson tallied six rebounds and Maxiell grabbed two on the offensive end of the floor."We've been playing together in summer league for three years," Johnson said. "Me and Max, we kind of have that bond together. "It's just real comfortable. We both do the same stuff; run the floor, rebound, block shots ... we're going to be all right."

Antonio McDyess had 10 points and 13 rebounds, giving him a team-leading 11th double-double this season. One of McDyess' rebounds came when he was near the free-throw line trying to put his shoe back on. ... Detroit now has won five in a row against the Pacers for the first time since they won five in a row over the course of the 1989-1990 and 1990-1991 seasons.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar ... 00391/1127

Wallace, after a sluggish first quarter (0-for-3, two turnovers), took over. He finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and a steal. He made 10 of 18 shots, hitting eight straight between the second and third quarters that helped take the Pistons from 10 points down to five points up. "I was just taking advantage of the situation," Wallace said. "Just taking what they was giving me, pretty much."

The Pistons outrebounded the Pacers, 48-40, and outscored them in the paint (48-36) and on second-chance points (19-11). "We wanted to punch it in to (Wallace) and really establish him in that second half," Chauncey Billups said. " 'Sheed got busy, man."

"Rasheed is one of the premier big men in the NBA and I don't think he gets the recognition he deserves," Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said. "I think he's one of the top three big men in the league."

[nasty daddy]

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

He started jawing in the second quarter, when he went 5-for-5 from the field and scored 11 points in the final 3:22 of the period. The Pistons went from 10 points down to leading 59-57 at halftime because of Wallace's barrage. Wallace was shouting "and one" on made baskets, keeping his arm raised as shots fell.

Even the bench got into it. At one point during the run, a Detroit player shouted, "That's the best they got for you, 'Sheed?"Wallace enjoyed the game, and the mostly one-way conversation."It don't matter," he said. "They can say whatever they want back, if they say anything. They ain't going to talk more junk than me."

"They made some really big defensive stops and made some big shots down the stretch," Indiana coach Jim O'Brien said. "They did what they had to at the end of the game."

[nasty daddy]

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti ... 00430/1051

Wallace finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks -- including a big one in the final minute -- in a dominating show against the Indiana Pacers. The Pistons won it, 110-104. "I told the staff, that's what really pisses you off, when you see him play like that for three quarters," coach Flip Saunders said. "Everyone knows he's got the ability to do that night in and night out."

Forward Amir Johnson (six points, six rebounds), point guard Rodney Stuckey (seven points) and forward Jarvis Hayes got the Pistons back within three midway through the second quarter. "I think (Wallace) saw the energy those guys were playing with," Saunders said, "and it kind of got him interested in playing."

Forward Tayshaun Prince, who scored 17, hit a 14-footer to give the Pistons a four-point lead with 40 seconds left before Wallace's defense clamped down. Forward Antonio McDyess quietly had a double-double with 13 rebounds and 10 points, Chauncey Billups scored 13 and Richard Hamilton 15. Hayes finished with 13 points -- his biggest scoring contribution since December.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detnews.com:80/apps/pbcs.dll ... 0391/1127/

Travis Diener was lining up a seemingly wide open 3-pointer from the corner that would have cut a four-point Pistons lead to one with 31 seconds left. Thirty-three-year-old Rasheed Wallace was at the free-throw line when Diener got the ball. "I just had to pull out some of my old high jumping tricks," Wallace said.Wallace raced to the corner and somehow managed to block Diener's shot, helping to preserve a hard-earned 110-104 victory at Conseco Fieldhouse Tuesday.

The Pacers, who were also without point guard Jamaal Tinsley (knee), stayed in the game with their 3-point shooting (12-of-24). Mike Dunleavy led them with 25 points, Diener and Murphy scored 18 each. "They are tough to prepare for because they don't run any set plays," Billups said. "They just run around, pick, pop, roll, shoot 3s. There's no set way to play them."

The Pistons' bench outscored the Pacers' 31-16. Hayes, who scored seven points in the fourth, has scored 33 points, hitting 13 of 19 shots, in the three victories against the Pacers this season.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti ... 0430/1051/

For the first 12 minutes Tuesday night, Rasheed Wallace looked like the late-January, hard-to-excite Rasheed Wallace. For the last 36, he looked like the Wallace who could be named an All-Star.

In the first quarter, Wallace wasn't alone in playing with a hint of apathy. The Pacers raced to an 11-point lead, scoring inside at will and rebounding tough. It wasn't until the bench came in that some life showed up.

But the Pistons couldn't pull away until the final minute. The Pacers' helter-skelter offense features plenty of threes, and Tuesday they went 12-for-24.

[Low-Ki]

Wallace seemed to pick it up once he was playing alongside Amir for whatever reason.

[jab]

You noticed that too, good eye