Pistons-Nuggets Preview

By JORDAN GARRETSON
Posted Nov 05 2012 4:52PM

Two of the NBA's four winless teams meet Tuesday night, though one of them being without a victory comes as a bigger surprise than the other.

After a disheartening three-game road trip, the Denver Nuggets open their home schedule against the Detroit Pistons with both teams looking to get on track offensively.

Denver was stunned in the finale of its trip, losing 119-116 to Miami on Saturday as Ray Allen's four-point play with 6.7 seconds gave Denver its first 0-3 start in six years.

Danilo Gallinari's struggles in his two games haven't helped. The club's second-leading scorer last season, Gallinari is averaging 18.0 points but shooting 25.8 percent from the floor and 16.7 percent from 3-point range.

He was 3 of 17 overall and 1 for 9 from beyond the arc against the Heat, missing a potential tying 3 with two seconds left.

"The timing wasn't right," Gallinari said.

After averaging 82.0 points in the first two games, the Nuggets did show signs of offensive life Saturday. Denver shot 51.5 percent and had seven players score in double figures.

After totaling 20 points in the first two contests, newcomer Andre Iguodala scored 22 and shot 9 of 15. Kenneth Faried had 22 points and 12 rebounds after totaling eight and 12 in the first two contests, while Javale McGee added 16 points and nine boards.

For a team coming off a 38-28 season and facing higher expectations in 2012-13, though, progress will only be measured in victories.

"Right now we just need to get a win," coach George Karl said.

The Pistons' start is much less of a shock, as the club is 0-3 for the third consecutive season. Detroit lost double-digit leads in the first two games before falling behind 34-13 in a 108-79 defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

The starters went 11 for 39 from the floor and coach Lawrence Frank emptied the bench midway through the third quarter.

"We know this is a building group," Frank told the team's official website. "It's unacceptable to get your doors blown off like we did and yet we know there's a big disparity right now between us and the Lakers."

A backcourt struggling to find its shooting touch is one of the biggest reasons for the Pistons' 88.0 points-per-game average, which ranks near the bottom of the league. Brandon Knight is averaging 10.0 points and is shooting 31.4 percent while Rodney Stuckey has 10 points and has gone 1 of 23 from the floor.

Stuckey has missed his last 18 shots and was held scoreless in 25 minutes against the Lakers. He has reportedly been dealing with migraine headaches.

Tuesday marks the third game in a quirky six-game road trip for the Pistons, as they return to California on Wednesday to play Sacramento before heading to Oklahoma City on Friday.

Denver has won the last four meetings with Detroit, shooting at least 56 percent in each of the previous two. The Nuggets won the only matchup last season in Denver on March 21, 116-115 on McGee's dunk with five seconds left. The Pistons lost despite hitting 14 of 18 3-pointers.

Iguodala lifts Nuggets to 109-97 win over Pistons

By PAT GRAHAM
Posted Nov 07 2012 12:54AM

DENVER (AP) First, Andre Iguodala threw a bad pass. Then, he took too many steps.

Two costly turnovers late in a close game. In his Denver home debut, no less.

Miffed by his miscues, Iguodala went to work, scoring six of his 17 points over the final three minutes to help the Denver Nuggets hold off the Detroit Pistons 109-97 on Tuesday night.

"When I make a mistake, I really want to make it up," Iguodala said.

And make it up he certainly did as he played a big role in the Nuggets snapping a three-game skid.

Even before tipoff, Iguodala got the capacity crowd riled up by grabbing the microphone and giving an impassioned speech to the fans: "This is a big year for us! We need your support!"

Then, he came through at crunch time. Not just with his offensive exploits, either, but his defensive intensity as well. He also added 10 rebounds.

"He was a presence everywhere, on every part of the court," Danilo Gallinari said. "He's great for us when he plays like that."

The Nuggets broke out their new canary yellow uniforms for their home opener and played pretty snazzy, especially late in the third quarter when they began opening up a 17-point lead. The Pistons rallied in the final quarter, before Iguodala closed the door with two baskets and a pair of free throws.

Greg Monroe scored 27 points and 10 rebounds for the Pistons, who dropped their fourth straight. Detroit and Washington (0-2) are the only winless teams left in the NBA this season.

"We showed a lot of fight," Monroe said. "We have to push through. At that point, three minutes left, seven-point game, that's definitely a winnable game. We have to find a way to win tight games like that."

Early in the fourth, Iguodala and Corey Brewer hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Nuggets a 96-80 lead. Moments later, JaVale McGee brought the crowd to its feet with a thunderous dunk off a lob from Andre Miller.

The Nuggets appeared to be cruising to the win with 7:41 remaining, but the Pistons made things interesting when Jonas Jerebko stole the ball from Iguodala and went in for the dunk.

Iguodala turned the ball over again when he couldn't find anyone to pass the ball to and traveled.

Then, he began his scoring spree, leading coach George Karl to quip after the game that he would be all right with Iguodala doing that all the time, earlier in the game even.

But Karl understands why Iguodala is slowly integrating his way into the offense. It's just his style.

"He's not going to shake the boat," Karl said. "He's going to figure out how we like to play, and figure out what's a good shot and what's not a good shot."

McGee finished with 16 points while Ty Lawson and Kenneth Faried each added 15.

The Pistons played their third of a winding six-game road swing. They return to California on Wednesday night to play Sacramento, before going to Oklahoma City and finishing up in Houston.

Rodney Stuckey came into the game in a shooting funk, hitting just 1 of his last 23 jumpers. But he found his range against the Nuggets as he finished with 17 points.

"He will always be a big part of our success," Monroe said. "We need him to play like he did tonight, attacking the goal, getting to the free throw line. It was good to see that."

Like Stuckey, Gallinari was struggling with his form. He spent nearly 90 minutes after Monday's practice going through shooting drills designed to restore his confidence. He had it going early, but fell off as the young Italian forward had eight points on 3 of 11 shooting.

The Nuggets led by as many as 10 points in the first half, but could never pull away from the pesky Pistons. Kenneth Faried scored 12 points in the first half to send Denver into the locker room with a 58-51 lead at intermission.

Pistons coach Lawrence Frank said he's trying to get his team to buy into the concept of being more unselfish.

"All the best teams are," Frank said. "Look, who's the most coachable player on the Spurs? Tim Duncan. Who's the most coachable player on the Celtics? Kevin Garnett. Who's the most coachable player in Oklahoma City? Kevin Durant. Who's most coachable player of the Miami Heat? LeBron James. This is not calculus. This is not trying to figure out the next Pythagorean theorem.

"This is easy: Your players have to unite and inspire by how they play. It's that simple."

Notes: Pistons F Corey Maggette sat out a fourth straight game with a strained left calf. ... The Pistons were 6 of 12 from behind the 3-point line. ... Former Nuggets F LaPhonso Ellis brought out the game ball before tipoff. ... The Nuggets avoided their first 0-4 start since 1998. ... Denver outrebounded the Pistons 21-8 on the offensive glass.

Notebook: Nuggets 109, Pistons 97

Mike Kelly, for NBA.com
Posted Wed Nov 07, 2012 1:12 AM - Updated Wed Nov 07, 2012 1:12 AM

THE FACTS: Andre Iguodala had 17 points and 10 rebounds in his first home game at Pepsi Center to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 109-97 win over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night. Ty Lawson had 15 points and nine assists and JaVale McGee had 16 points off the bench for the Nuggets.

Greg Monroe had 27 points and 10 rebounds and Rodney Stuckey scored 17 for the Pistons, who fell to 0-4 on the season.

QUOTABLE: "We had some ups and downs throughout the game, but it was a good test for us to see if we could hold a lead. We're only going to get better. We're a work in progress." -- Iguodala

THE STAT: The Nuggets struggled from 3-point range in their first three games, shooting just 24 percent from long range but came out hot in the first quarter. They hit four of their first six from behind the arc and finished 10-for-30 from 3-point range.

TURNING POINT: After the Pistons trimmed a 16-point deficit to seven with 3:38 left, Iguodala took over. He hit two free throws, scored on a dunk and hit a 15-foot turnaround fadeaway to put Denver up 13 and seal the game.

QUOTABLE II: "Coming to a new team, he's very respectful of what we have and what we've been. He's not going to shake the boat. He's going to figure out how we play and figure out what's a good shot and what's not a good shot. I think he's pressing a little bit but defensively he's solid." -- Nuggets coach George Karl, on Iguodala

HOT: McGee had an impact, both good and bad. He had seven points in the first half when he had a three-point play and dunked an alley-oop from Andre Miller. In the third quarter he missed a tomahawk jam and had his shot blocked on the same possession but then had a key block on Brandon Knight at the other end. He followed that with another alley-oop before picking up a loose ball and driving all the way to the basket for a dunk that made it 83-74.

QUOTABLE III: "I feed off him but we also feed off of each other." -- Kenneth Faried, on playing alongside McGee.

NOT: Knight didn't score his first points until midway through the third quarter and finished with just two points on 1-for-6 shooting. He did lead the team with nine assists.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Former Nuggets forward LaPhonso Ellis presented the game ball before the opening tip.

GOOD MOVE: Karl rotated his big men effectively against Detroit's smaller frontline. The Nuggets finished with a 52-35 edge in rebounds and outscored the Pistons 56-44 in the paint.

QUOTABLE III: "We knew coming into the game (rebounding) was one of their strengths. We have to do a better job of controlling the boards." -- Pistons coach Lawrence Frank

ROOKIE WATCH: Kim English and Andre Drummond were forces in the first half for Detroit. English hit two 3-pointers to help the Pistons grab a quick lead and Drummond hit all three of his shots. Neither player was a factor in the second half.

NOTABLE: The Nuggets avoided starting the season 0-4. The last time they lost their first four games was in the lockout-shortened season of 1998-99. ... Monroe's double-double was the 52nd of his career. It was the 16th time he's had at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in a game. ... The Nuggets had 11 blocked shots. They were 4-0 when recording 10 or more blocked shots last year.

UP NEXT: For the Pistons, Wednesday @ Sacramento, Friday @ Oklahoma City, Saturday @ Houston. For the Nuggets, Wednesday @, Houston, Friday vs. Utah, Saturday @ Golden State.

• Pistons: Kravtsov, Maggette
• Nuggets: Miller, Stone

• Pistons: --
• Nuggets: --

• Lead Changes: 6
• Times Tied: 7

• Arena: Pepsi Center, Denver, CO
• Officials: #30 John Goble, #12 Violet Palmer, #72 J.T. Orr
• Attendance: 19155
• Duration: 2:17