| December 24th - Merry Christmas!
~ Detroit News ~
Hamilton leads Pistons to sixth straight win Rasheed Wallace, mourning death of cousin, adds 18 points
A/P
The Detroit Pistons had plenty of reasons to be distracted. Rasheed Wallace was playing less than 24 hours after his cousin was killed in a shootout with Philadelphia police, Richard Hamilton had a bad back and the whole team is looking forward to an NBA Finals rematch with San Antonio on Sunday. All that wasn't enough for the Golden State Warriors. Hamilton scored 28 points and Wallace added 18 to help the Pistons improve to 21-3 with a 97-85 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Friday night. Detroit has won six straight. Wallace plays through emotional pain
After Sleepless Night, Rasheed Suits up against Warriors
By Dana Wakiji No one would have blamed Rasheed Wallace if he decided not to play Friday night against the Golden State Warriors. Thursday night, Wallace learned his cousin, Tyree, was killed in a shootout with Philadelphia police officers. Coach Flip Saunders spoke with Wallace's wife, Fatima, Friday and she said Wallace had not slept much of the night. She told Saunders, however, that she expected her husband to play. Wallace decided to play and logged 43 minutes, more than any other Piston.
Cousin of Rasheed Wallace killed in gunfight with police
A/P A cousin of Detroit Pistons star Rasheed Wallace was killed and a police officer was wounded in a shootout that police said occurred after an undercover drug buy.
Tyree Wallace, 22, was pronounced dead at Albert Einstein Medical Center. Sgt. Mike Mitchell, 41, a police veteran, was in stable condition Friday at Einstein with a groin wound. Pistons spokesman Matt Dobek confirmed that Tyree Wallace was Rasheed Wallace's first cousin. Wallace did not participate in the team's shoot-around Friday morning, Dobek said. Wallace, however, was at The Palace in suburban Detroit for Friday night's home game against the Golden State Warriors, and coach Flip Saunders said he was expected to play. Like him or not, Artest sparks plenty of debate By Brian Mahoney A/P Stephen Jackson once ran into the stands to help Ron Artest, so there is no question how he feels about his Indiana Pacers teammate. But one thing became obvious after Artest made, then rescinded, his request to be traded: Few players can spark as many different opinions as he can. While there is no argument he's among the NBA's most talented players, everything else about him seems to depend on who is being asked. Jackson knows which side he's on. He followed Artest into the stands during last season's brawl at Detroit, and still is behind him now. But in the same locker room, there is a differing opinion from Indiana's best player. ~ Detroit Free Press ~
True warriors Pistons honor Dumars, cope with tragedy and stay focused
By Krista Latham Did they look past this game? Maybe just a tad, but you couldn't tell from the result. With the Christmas Day rematch of the 2005 NBA Finals with San Antonio on Sunday, the Pistons surely felt like the Golden State Warriors were a warm-up Friday night, the bread basket that's passed around the table before the meat's done cooking. And with one starter, Rasheed Wallace, playing despite learning of his cousin's death the day before, it seemed like an acceptable letdown game. But the Pistons, pros that they are, kept their focus for most of Friday's primer. They never let the Warriors enjoy a lead, not even after rookie Ike Diogu put on a scoring clinic in the second quarter to keep the Warriors' chances alive. Wallace deals with tragedy
forward still in the lineup day after cousins that
By Krista Latham The bad news spread to Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace sometime Thursday night. His 22-year-old first-cousin, Tyree Wallace, had been shot and killed by a police officer in a shootout authorities said occurred after an undercover drug buy in a Philadelphia neighborhood that evening. Little more than 24 hours later, after sleeping most of the day Friday to recover from a sleepless night before, Rasheed Wallace arrived at the Palace, headphones in place as usual, and suited up at his locker. He started and scored 19 points in the Pistons' 97-85 win over Golden State. Shine's off these Spurs
mediocre stretch deflates champions
By Mark Snyder Remember how good Sunday's NBA Finals rematch looked two weeks ago? Back then, the Spurs and Pistons were side-by-side running away from the rest of the teams in their conferences. Well, the Pistons (21-3) are still out in front, but the Spurs have fallen off the pace entering Sunday's 12:30 p.m. tip-off at the Palace. Since opening the season 16-3, the Spurs were just 5-3 after Friday's 95-90 win over Toronto. In their last eight games, they have hardly looked like a champion, especially considering two losses were to New Orleans (11-15) and Atlanta (7-18). Christmas game lacks TV hype By Krista Latham This week, NBA commercials panted over the Christmas Day matchup between the Lakers and the Heat, and then mentioned, oh, by the way, there's this other game before it, the one between the league's two best teams.You know, a rematch of last year's NBA Finals, San Antonio vs. Detroit? But it's no biggie. "When I came here, a lot of the players told me it'd be like that," coach Flip Saunders said. "We float under the radar a lot. So I think that's fine with us." Such is life when you're anti-drama, anti-ego teams from non-sexy locales such as the Spurs and the Pistons. ~ The Oakland Press ~
Focused Pistons Hamilton, Wallace lead way past Golden State
By Dana Gauruder Rasheed Wallace played with a heavy heart. Richard Hamilton played with a little chip on his shoulder. Together, they made sure their team did not look ahead to their biggest game of the season to date.
After dealing with a family tragedy over the previous 24 hours, Wallace played a gamehigh 43 minutes and scored 19 points in the Pistons' 97-85 win over the road-weary Golden State Warriors on Friday night. Detroit's sixth consecutive victory and 12th in the last 13 games improved its leaguebest record to 21-3 heading into the Christmas Day showdown with San Antonio. Piston plays after cousins death
by Dana Gauruder Until Rasheed Wallace walked into the locker room of The Palace of Auburn Hills about an hour and 20 minutes prior to the Detroit Pistons' tipoff against Golden State on Friday night, there was some question about whether he would play.
Wallace's 22-year-old cousin, Tyree, was shot to death by Philadelphia police during a gun battle Thursday night. Police allege that Tyree Wallace, a student at Arcadia University in Glenside, Pa., pulled a gun on an undercover officer when the offi cer tried to arrest him for selling drugs. A police officer was wounded in the shootout. Rasheed Wallace had a sleepless night dealing with the family tragedy. He missed the team's shootaround Friday morning. Hunter taking his time to return
By Dana Gauruder Don't be fooled by the limp and the slow shuffling of his feet. Lindsey Hunter may look like he's still a long way from returning to action, but he's practicing at full tilt. Hunter, who had arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle Nov. 5, should be back in uniform next month.
"For a playoff game, he's probably back tomorrow," Pistons strength and conditioning coach Arnie Kander said. "That's how good he looks in practice." With the team off to a franchisebest start, there is no need for to rush back. He wants to be in top physical condition before he starts playing again to reduce the risk of having a setback. ~ The San Francisco Chronicle ~
A silver lining Diogu posts big numbers in latest loss
By Janny Hu At a time when so many things weren't working for Golden State, the Warriors stumbled upon something that did Friday night. Ike Diogu. The Warriors' rookie took over the offense by scoring 19 of his team-high 27 points in the second half against Detroit. He posted up Ben Wallace and spun past him for a reverse dunk. He faced up Rasheed Wallace on the right block, spun, and hit a turnaround jumper. His performance wasn't enough to avoid a 97-85 loss at the Palace of Auburn Hills, but it was enough to spin the Warriors' offense 180 degrees. Suddenly, the Warriors had somewhere to go with the ball. Someone giving them an inside presence. ~ Inside Bay Area.com ~
Diogu only bright spot for slumping Warriors Rookie's 27 can't stop 4th straight loss
By David Birkett If not for rookie Ike Diogu, Golden State's five-game road trip might have been almost a total loss.
In and out of the rotation since his return from a hand injury a month ago, Diogu scored a career-high 27 points and tied a career high with seven rebounds in 32 minutes Friday, but the Warriors still lost their fourth straight game 97-85 to the Detroit Pistons at The Palace. Golden State (14-13) has lost seven of its past nine to fall to fourth place in the Pacific Division after toying with first much of the first six weeks. |