Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Iverson, Wallace score 19 apiece to lead Detroit
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Rasheed Wallace made three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and scored 19 points as the Detroit Pistons rallied from 10 points down to beat San Antonio 89-77 on Tuesday night despite the return of Manu Ginobili to the Spurs' starting lineup.
Allen Iverson also scored 19 for Detroit (11-6), which has won two of three. Richard Hamilton added 16 points and Tayshaun Prince scored 15.
The Spurs (9-8) have dropped two straight after winning four in a row. They were led by Tim Duncan, who had 23 points, but just one point in the fourth quarter.
Ginobili scored 13 in his first start of the season after missing the first 12 games because of offseason ankle surgery.
The Pistons, who trailed by 10 twice in the third quarter, finally pulled ahead when Wallace hit a 3-pointer almost four minutes into the fourth quarter. Wallace hit two more 3s in the fourth quarter as Detroit outscored the Spurs 28-14.
Iverson trimmed the Spurs' 50-40 lead less than two minutes into the third quarter down to 52-50 on a layup with 7:18 remaining in the period.
But San Antonio scored eight straight, capped by Bruce Bowen's 3-pointer with 3:14 left in the third, to go ahead 60-50 with 3:14 left in the third quarter.
Iverson's 3-pointer cut the Spurs' lead to one point, but Ginobili came back down the floor and quickly hit his own 3-pointer. San Antonio clung to a 63-61 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
After starting the game 4-of-5 for a two-point lead, the Pistons went 1-of-7 during the next 5:22 and the Spurs held their largest lead of the quarter at 16-10.
Iverson, who played the entire opening quarter for 7 points on 3-of-5 shooting, got Detroit back on track with a 3-pointer to cut San Antonio's lead to 16-13 with 3:42 to go. But the Spurs led by five heading into the second quarter.
San Antonio led by as many as seven points in the second quarter before the Pistons scored 12 consecutive points during a stretch of 3:28. The run consisted of a pair of free throws and five straight layups. The last two were slam dunks by Jason Maxiell that gave Detroit a 31-26 lead with 7:10 left in the first half.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
