Intentionally fouling Ben Wallace backfires on Los Angeles
By Chris McCosky

It doesn't work. It has never worked.

But that didn't stop Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy from deploying a hack-a-Ben strategy for the final six minutes Sunday -- intentionally fouling Ben Wallace on every possession.

The result was an 11-4 run for the Pistons that effectively sealed their sixth straight win, 109-101.

The Pistons are now 15-2 overall and 10-1 on the road. It was just the second home loss for the Clippers.



Pistons cut down Clippers
Bench shines in 10th road win
By Krista Latham

The wins keep coming for the Pistons, against good teams and bad, on the West Coast or the East Coast, at home or away. And with Ben Wallace making or missing free throws.

The Clippers -- make that the Pacific Division-leading Clippers -- decided with six minutes left Sunday night that they couldn't stop the Pistons without resorting to a Hack-A-Ben philosophy.

They sent Wallace to the line 10 times in the fourth quarter, killing their momentum from an 8-2 run that brought them within eight points. And the plan backfired.


By Krista Latham

There's an age-old question in the NBA, and it's not the one about where Larry Brown will find his next paycheck.
To foul or not to foul (with a three-point lead late in the game) -- that is the question.

The Pistons ran into that scenario against the Golden State Warriors on Friday night. Warriors guard Jason Richardson hit a three-pointer with nine seconds left that brought Golden State to within one; Chauncey Billups followed with two free throws to put Detroit up, 104-101.



Saunders tips To Cassell
By Dana Gauruder

Flip Saunders had a hunch that the Los Angeles Clippers would be much improved this season.

He felt point guard Sam Cassell, whom he coached in Minnesota, would have a major impact on the perennially downtrodden Clippers. With Cassell running the offense, the Clippers were off to a 14-5 start heading into Sunday night's game against the Pistons. Cassell, a 13-year veteran, was dealt to the Clippers in August.

Artest loves swimming in controversy
By Pat Caputo
There are headlines. Then there are cries for help. This headline was posted on ESPN.com during the weekend: "Artest says Pacers better without him."
It was a scream for help.
At initial glance, the statement is preposterous. Artest is 6-feet-7, weighs 250 pounds and is one of a handful of truly gifted players in the NBA. He can drive to the basket. He can score from outside. When he decides to rebound, Artest owns the boards. When the mood moves him to clamp down on someone defensively, they can't breathe.
But Artest also is correct. The Pacers would be better off without him.





By A. Sherrod Blakely

Los Angeles Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy apparently didn't get the memo.

Resorting to the Hack-a-Ben Wallace strategy never works.

Dunleavy's decision to start fouling Wallace intentionally in the fourth quarter -- despite his team being on a 10-3 run at the time -- killed the Clippers' momentum.
And in the process, it gave the Pistons just the incentive they needed to pull away for a 109-101 win.



Clippers Not Quite There Yet
L.A.'s aspirations of joining the NBA elite get a reality check in a 109-101 home loss to the Pistons, the league's best at 15-2.
By Jason Reid

Elite status in the NBA is difficult to achieve, and the Detroit Pistons have been among the game's best for a while.

The Clippers strive to join the club and say they're moving closer toward the door, but it appeared they still weren't ready to enter Sunday night after a 109-101 loss to the Pistons at Staples Center.

Detroit (15-2) committed only four turnovers, the fewest in the NBA this season, never trailed and led by as many as 16 points early in the third quarter. And Piston reserves outscored their Clipper counterparts, 29-16, in the team's sixth consecutive victory, including five on the road.



Pistons give L.A. dose of reality
By Joe Stephens

Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy dubbed his squad "a good basketball team" and called the Detroit Pistons "an elite team" before they met on Sunday night.

The Pistons showed there is a world of difference between being elite and merely good by ending the Clippers' four-game winning streak with a 109-101 victory before a sellout crowd of 19,060 at Staples Center.

The closest that the Clippers got in the second half was trailing by eight points with 5:59 left. That's when Dunleavy and the Clippers employed their "Hack-a-Wallace" defense, sending Ben Wallace to the free-throw line in an attempt to stop the clock.