Hitting the Wall

Just when it looked like the Pistons would sneak away with another West Coast win achieved without Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess, the Lakers remembered that the objective of the game was to put the ball in the basket. After shooting a flimsy 27 percent through three quarters, the Lakers scorched the Pistons by making 16 of 21 in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Pistons 41-23 to win 103-91. It didn’t hurt the Lakers’ cause, of course, that the Pistons turned the ball over four straight times to give their hosts transition dunks, layups and free throws midway through the quarter to turn the game. The sputtering finish overshadowed the NBA debut of Cheikh Samb, who helped the Pistons recover from another slow start to get back in the game by halftime. The Pistons, who had won six of their last seven games against the Lakers, are now 2-2 on their West Coast road trip that concludes in Sacramento on Sunday.

FLIP SAUNDERS: “We ran out of gas. We ran out of bodies. Guys tried. You’d like a little better whistle in the fourth, as hard as our guys played.”

FLIP MURRAY: “It’s tough to be shorthanded and plus we were in foul trouble tonight, so that really hurt us.”

The story of the game in Pistons red, white and blue

– The best option in the Lakers’ playbook for three quarters was the missed shot – followed by an offensive rebound and another chance. And Lamar Odom was the guy grabbing most of them. He had nine of LA’s 19 offensive boards through three quarters – 20 points and 12 boards at that point – to keep the Lakers within six points heading into the fourth, when they finally heated up. Odom, who missed the season’s first four games while recovering from off-season shoulder surgery, finished with 25 points and 15 rebounds.

Blue Collar – Give it to the Pistons bench. They were down nine points after one quarter yet got to halftime trailing by two despite having to go for much of the second quarter with a unit of Lindsey Hunter, Jarvis Hayes (13 points, 11 in the second quarter, in 17 minutes), Amir Johnson and Samb on the floor with either Rip Hamilton or Tayshaun Prince (16 points, nine rebounds) as the fifth. Hayes made 5 of 7 shots in the quarter for 11 points to provide much of the scoring punch, while Johnson and Samb were active defensively.

SAUNDERS: “I’ve said all along, (Samb has) been great in practice. It’s just opportunities. Tonight he took advantage and did a nice job. He’s still learning, but I thought both him and Amir did a nice job in the time they were in there. Our young guys played well.”

MURRAY: “Him and Amir came in and played great, gave us great energy off the bench. Cheikh plugged up the middle, denied them from getting easy baskets. He played a great game.”

Red Flag – The Pistons committed six turnovers in the first eight minutes, which portended what was to come in the fourth quarter. If there’s one area where the Pistons most feel the loss of Billups, it’s in the area of safeguarding the basketball. It wasn’t all on Flip Murray, of course, but it was Murray (15 points, six assists, six rebounds) who coughed it up on consecutive possessions midway through the fourth quarter – a bad pass that led to a Jordan Farmar layup followed by Farmar stripping Murray and going in for another layup. He missed that one, but Maurice Evans followed for a dunk that put the Lakers ahead 77-74. On the next possession, Farmar – Arron Afflalo’s UCLA backcourt mate for two years – picked off a Rip Hamilton pass that resulted in a transition dunk by Andrew Bynum. Then Lindsey Hunter, in for Murray, committed a turnover that led to Rasheed Wallace fouling Farmar to prevent another layup. Four possessions – no shots – that resulted in a 7-0 Lakers run and saw them take the lead for good. The Pistons finished with 17 turnovers, five by Hamilton and four by Murray.

SAUNDERS: “Turnovers led to a lot of their fast-break opportunities. They were actually having problems against our defense and they got some easy ones and they got their mojo going in the fourth.”

Pivotal plays, frozen moments and lasting images from a shorthanded loss

Kobe vs. Show-be – When Hamilton (16 points) picked up two fouls in the first 4:26, Arron Afflalo was thrown into the game to go against his idol, Kobe Bryant. Afflalo – nicknamed Show-be by Rasheed Wallace, in deference to his admiration of Bryant – got tested by Bryant on the first possession. Bryant, smelling blood, took the ball hard at Afflalo, who first managed to make Bryant fumble it and then forced a tough shot that missed badly. Bryant was eerily quiet for three quarters, scoring eight points on 2 of 14 shooting before scoring 11 in the fourth. Afflalo had four points and two rebounds in a solid 11 minutes.

Block Party – Foul trouble and McDyess’ absence led to the NBA debut of Samb, who entered with 10:10 left in the second quarter as Jason Maxiell (nine points, four rebounds in 23 foul-plagued minutes) picked up his third. On the Lakers’ first possession, Samb picked up a foul when he attempted to defend Maurice Evans – the player the Pistons traded to LA for Samb’s rights on draft night 2006 – on a drive to the basket. A few minutes later, Samb and Amir Johnson – a combination Saunders never imagined playing in meaningful minutes this early – blocked consecutive shots within seconds of each by Lakers big man Andrew Bynum. Samb held up very well and finished with two points in 15 minutes, knocking down his first attempt on a baseline jumper, to go with four rebounds and Johnson grabbed seven boards in 18 minutes. Samb wound up being credited with two blocks – though he clearly got his hands on at least two more and altered a few more – and Johnson with four.

Tired Legs – All those hard minutes the Pistons were forced to play Tuesday in a tight game at Portland and then 24 hours later at Golden State without Billups and McDyess caught up to them. It was especially evident when the Pistons came back out after halftime and Rasheed Wallace (13 points, eight rebounds) missed consecutive shots from the same spot along the baseline. The first, a flat jumper, clanged off the rim. The second missed everything.

SAUNDERS: “We played, at times, offensively a little bit tired. We weren’t as crisp as we would have liked. We got into one-on-one situations a little too much.”

A little perspective on a tough loss

Playing their fourth game in six nights without three key players – remember, Rodney Stuckey remains out with his broken hand in addition to Billups and McDyess – caught up to the Pistons in that fourth quarter. Those turnovers were a lot more than the product of harassing defense by Jordan Farmar. Murray was supposed to be fighting Afflalo for scrap minutes behind Hamilton, but he was already pushing 40 minutes midway through the fourth quarter when his consecutive turnovers opened the floodgates. The Pistons close out the trip in Sacramento on Sunday, and if they come home with a 3-2 trip and a 7-3 record after a 10-game opening stretch that’s seen them play eight games on the road, nobody will complain – as long as the walking, or limping, wounded get back in uniform sometime soon.