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Payton, Not Shaq, puts Heat on Lakers
(AP)
Updated: 2005-12-26 08:50
Brian Cook's 3-pointer with 1:59 left in the period ¡ª the Lakers' first in 14
tries to that point ¡ª gave his team a 70-65 lead, but Miami scored the final
five points of the quarter and tied it at 70 when Antoine Walker backed Odom
down and scored with 10.8 seconds remaining, setting up the wild fourth quarter.
Stingy Pistons offer no gifts to Spurs
San Antonio Spurs'
Tim Duncan, left, prepares to drive to the basket against Detroit Pistons'
Ben Wallace during the first half of their NBA basketball game on Sunday
afternoon, Dec. 25, 2005, in Auburn Hills, Mich.
[AP] | AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - In their first
matchup since the NBA Finals, Detroit proved dominant in a defensive struggle
against San Antonio.
Chauncey Billups scored 20 points and the Pistons
held the Spurs to their lowest-scoring first quarter Sunday before winning
85-70, the seventh straight victory for Detroit. The Spurs missed 13 of their
last 14 shots in the opening period.
The game featuring the defending champion Spurs and the 2004 champion Pistons
was the opener in the NBA's annual Christmas doubleheader, lacking the Shaq-Kobe
hype in the Miami Heat- Los Angeles Lakers matchup later in the day.
"We're very honored, but we realize it is a great responsibility to play in
the JV game," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich joked before the game. "We have
to do a good job to make sure the fans stay around to watch the varsity game."
Detroit has won 13 of 14 games and improved to an NBA-best 22-3. The Spurs
have lost three of five, but their 21-7 record is the league's second best.
Ben Wallace had 10 points and a season-high 21 rebounds and reserve Antonio
McDyess added 10 points and a season-high 13 rebounds for the Pistons. Rasheed
Wallace scored 14 points and Richard Hamilton had 11.
San Antonio's Tony Parker scored 19 points and Tim Duncan had 18 points and
11 points.
With Manu Ginobili missing his eighth straight game with a sprained right
foot, Parker and Duncan didn't have much help. Reserve Nazr Mohammed had 10
points, the only other San Antonio player who scored in double figures. Michael
Finley, who replaced Ginobili in the starting lineup, had three points on 1-of-7
shooting.
Detroit led by 10 points after holding the Spurs to eight points, their
fewest first-quarter points in franchise history and a total that matched their
low from any quarter.
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