Source: http://www.sacbee.com/sports/story/1513744.html?mi_rss=Sports **************************************************************************** Some antifreeze, please By Melody Gutierrez Published: Saturday, Jan. 03, 2009 **************************************************************************** AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – A short-handed Detroit Pistons squad ran the floor as if fully loaded, and the Kings left with a 98-92 loss just north of a snowy Motor City. The Kings never recovered from their poor shooting, which went cold early. They finished just 33.7 percent (28 of 83) from the field. "It was a tough one for us shooting-wise, but we kind of hung in there," said Kevin Martin, who scored 20 points in his second game since returning from a left ankle injury. "We played hard, and that's about it. Sometimes, that doesn't translate into a win." The Pistons certainly made it difficult by converting 48.8 percent (40 of 82) from the field with the help of Rodney Stuckey. The second-year point guard was two shy of his career high with 38 points on 15-of-29 shooting. The Pistons played without starters Richard Hamilton (groin) and Rasheed Wallace (right foot) and top reserve Antonio McDyess (ribs). "They had great guys out there on the floor playing, so it didn't matter whether Rasheed was missing or whatever," Kings coach Kenny Natt said. "We had our opportunities to win this ballgame." Most noticeably following Bobby Jackson's three-pointer with 2:46 remaining in the game that closed the Kings' deficit to 89-86. "After I hit that three, we broke down defensively and gave up easy layups and easy fouls, so they went back up," Jackson said. "We've got to contain and make things tougher. You have to buckle down defensively." Which the Kings did in the second quarter, holding the Pistons to 16 points. The Kings trailed by just one, 45-44, at halftime. But 11 second-half turnovers did not help the Kings. "Those are the things that really make a difference," Natt said. "I thought our effort was there – we were really hustling – but we made really careless passes, and they really took advantage of it. Those are the things we have to keep working to try to eliminate." Brad Miller recorded his ninth double double of the season with a team-high 25 points and 16 rebounds. Pistons power forward Amir Johnson, playing in place of Wallace, recorded a career high with 14 rebounds. Still, Stuckey grabbed the spotlight, as an enthusiastic announced sellout crowd of 22,076 chanted his name. "I knew I had an advantage at the point guard situation with Beno (Udrih) and Bobby Brown and those guys," Stuckey said. "I was just being aggressive. Sometimes, they were all focused on A.I. (Allen Iverson). … It worked to my advantage." Stuckey's hot night had Natt frustrated. "It was very disappointing when a guy gets an opportunity to go off on you like that," Natt said. "But he had some help. Those guys were playing really well together." Iverson had 23 points, 16 in the second half, while Tayshaun Prince added 23 points and 10 rebounds. Udrih went 0 of 4 with two points off free throws, three assists and two turnovers. "I'm not really happy with my performance, but I want the team to perform better," Udrih said. "If one player doesn't perform good, you can still win the game. We were right there." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Only the strong survive- Iverson ⊕ ═█┘ ⊕ ●╱ 　　　 Ｗ ● ●︵ ● ●)) ３╯ <３\ /３⊕ ／３﹚ ３ \\ />⊕ >/ ⊕ ╲> >> ========= http://www.wretch.cc/blog/AWEI3 ========= --

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