The day after Thanksgiving, the Pistons had a home game against the Washington Wizards, who are now without Larry Hughes. Instead, Gilbert Arenas carried the Wizards with 39 points, and in the final quarter, the Pistons finally mustered a lead. It appeared as though the deathblow had been dealt until former Piston Chucky Atkins began making his move. Atkins made some serious noise draining shot after shot until fouling out. He finished the game with 20 off the bench. Not to be outdone, his teammate – Caron Butler – also scored over 20 points off the bench. Antawn Jamison quietly scored 22 points, but more importantly, grabbed 22 boards. The game went into overtime. Then, with the Pistons down by two, Ben Wallace grabbed an offensive rebound, got the put-back, and one. But he was unable to complete the three point play, and the second overtime session was all Wizards. Rasheed Wallace led the Pistons, dropping 33 points, snagging 11 boards, and collecting 5 dishes throughout the 56 minutes he played. Sheed only sat out for two minutes of the entire game!
Wizards 120, Detroit 114 F/2OT
After the game, the Pistons arrived in Milwaukee at 4:00 AM, and prepared for an 8:00 Central tip-off against the Bucks. Andrew Bogut was in action, albeit with a mask, after breaking his nose Wednesday and having surgery on Thanksgiving. He will wear the mask for at least 6 weeks. With balanced scoring, including 20 points from Rip and 17 points each from Tay and Chauncey, the Pistons were able to outlast the Bucks. Despite being beat on the glass, Ben Wallace still grabbed a season-high 18 rebounds, and the Pistons forced 17 Milwaukee turnovers. Executing down the stretch, the Pistons were able to grind it out and improve their record to 10-2, keeping them at first place in the Central Division.
Pistons 85, Bucks 76 F
Other News
- Former Piston Zeljko Rebraca has been diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat, and will be sidelined indefinitely. The Clippers backup center has been averaging 4.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 14.3 minutes per game. Was it just me, or did he have a similar problem that led to his departure from Detroit?
- The Dallas Mavericks waived Doug Christie, possibly ending the 35-year old guard’s career.
