LV-Suns
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Suns vs Pistons
6 PM
NBA Tv
6 PM
NBA Tv
Allen Iverson’s first week as a member of the Detroit Pistons didn’t go well. The second one has been pretty outstanding.
Iverson and the Pistons, coming off a win over what had been the league’s last unbeaten team, can complete a perfect four-game road trip Sunday if they knock off a Phoenix Suns squad getting Steve Nash back in its lineup.
Acquired on Nov. 3 in a deal that sent Chauncey Billups to Denver, Iverson was unable to suit up for Detroit (7-2) that night against Charlotte and also sat out two days later in Toronto because Billups had not taken his physical with the Nuggets.
Things didn’t go much better when Iverson finally did don a Pistons uniform. Detroit had been 4-0 before losing at New Jersey on Nov. 7 in Iverson’s debut. Two nights later, it lost at home to Boston as Iverson scored a season-low 10 points.
Maybe he started to feel more comfortable with his new teammates once he flew with them to the West Coast after last weekend. Iverson’s season-high 30 points lifted the Pistons to a win at Sacramento on Tuesday in the opener of this road trip, and they followed with victories on back-to-back nights.
After beating Golden State, Detroit handed the Los Angeles Lakers their first loss of the season on Friday, 106-95.
"We didn’t feel like it would take long, but we knew it would be kind of shaky in the beginning because I’m a totally different player than Chauncey Billups," said Iverson, who scored 25 points on 7-of-12 shooting versus the Lakers. "I’m a lot more aggressive when it comes to driving to the basket, so my teammates have to know what spot I want them to be in to be able to create shots for them."
Rasheed Wallace appears to be getting some good looks as a result. He’s 7-for-15 from three-point range over the last two games and posted double-doubles in both, averaging 22.0 points and 12.0 rebounds. He averaged 10.8 points and 8.2 rebounds in the first five games after Billups was traded.
This game could see Iverson guarded by former Philadelphia 76ers backcourt mate Raja Bell, part of the NBA’s All-Defensive second team last season, but there may be times he could take advantage of the defensively limited Nash.
The two-time MVP had to serve a one-game suspension Friday for his role in an altercation two nights earlier against Houston, but Phoenix (7-3) overcame his absence and that of two other key players to beat Sacramento 97-95 in overtime.
Amare Stoudemire hit the game-winning basket with 4.5 seconds left, and Shaquille O’Neal had one of his best games in a Suns uniform with 29 points, 13 rebounds and six assists.
"We were short-handed. I got more shots than I usually take," said O’Neal, shooting 65.1 percent to rank second in the league. "I just try to do what I do."
Phoenix also was missing two other double-figure scorers, Matt Barnes and Leandro Barbosa. Barnes will sit out again Sunday to complete his two-game suspension for inciting the fracas with Houston’s Rafer Alston, and Barbosa remains in his native Brazil following the death of his mother.
The Suns have lost three straight and eight of 10 versus the Pistons. Detroit has won three in a row in Phoenix -- by an average of 19.7 points -- and is 7-1 there this decade. Stoudemire scored more than 30 points in both meetings last season, but Phoenix allowed an average of 113.0 points.
Iverson is averaging 30.8 points in his last six games versus the Suns, but in 11 career trips to Phoenix, he’s averaged 21.0 points on 35.7 percent shooting. He’s lost all seven games he’s played there since 2002.
