TAKE FIVE
A five-point dissection of the first of a four-game road trip

1. THAT’S ONE - Allen Iverson put the first notch on his Pistons belt on a night they all had to hike up their pants and put in a full day’s work. With Rodney Stuckey unavailable, Iverson played all but two minutes and scored 30 points as the Pistons overcame a sluggish start to beat Sacramento 100-92 Tuesday to start a four-game road trip.

Iverson added nine assists and seven rebounds and Tayshaun Prince, who spent a good chunk of the game playing power forward as the Pistons continue to look for ways to replace Antonio McDyess’ contributions, pitched in 26 points and 11 rebounds. The Pistons needed everything he and Iverson had to give as Rip Hamilton’s shooting slump continued following his 0 for 8 against Boston.

Rasheed Wallace also struggled offensively again, but he had two steals and blocked shot down the stretch on a night he also logged heavy minutes.

Despite the continued shooting woes of Hamilton (17 points) and Wallace (seven points, seven boards, three blocks), the Pistons showed signs that they were beginning to discover how to play with and off of Iverson.

“We had a little bit of time to go in the gym and get some practice and that’s important,” Iverson said. “It’s hard coming out here and just going into a game with no chemistry, but we’re getting our chemistry a little better on both ends of the court. It’ll take a little time, but we’re getting it.”

Sacramento, which played without leading scorer Kevin Martin after he sprained his ankle Sunday night, lost its first home game of the season and had its three-game win streak snapped.

Stuckey, who sat out the second half of Sunday’s loss to Boston and didn’t make the trip to Sacramento with the rest of the team on Monday, has been cleared to play and should be rejoining the Pistons in time for Thursday’s game at Golden State. Walter Herrmann didn’t play as the Pistons went small for much of the night, using Arron Afflalo or Hamilton often at small forward with Iverson and Will Bynum in an undersized but dynamic backcourt.

Nothing about them looked dynamic early, though, as the Pistons picked up Tuesday where they left off Sunday. After their tepid showing against the reigning NBA champion Celtics, they spotted Sacramento a 10-2 lead – missing nine straight shots after Iverson gave them a 2-0 lead – and fell behind by 15 late in the first quarter.

They tied it by halftime, though, as Iverson and Bynum got them kick started early in the second quarter in which became a 32-point explosion. The Pistons went ahead early in the third quarter on two Prince free throws, but another long scoring drought allowed Sacramento to open a six-point lead before the Pistons cut it to two to start the fourth.

Iverson and Bynum again proved too much to contain for Sacramento as they scored Detroit’s first 11 points. Key defensive plays by Iverson and Wallace frustrated the Kings and the Pistons took the lead for good at 88-86 with 7:23 left on two Prince free throws.

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

2. - The problem with trying to ease one’s way into the mix, as Iverson clearly has tried to do since joining the Pistons, is that it runs counter to Iverson’s attacking nature. He kept the Pistons within reach early when nobody else was coming close to scoring and put the pressure on Sacramento with seven quick points to start the fourth quarter.

“We showed a lot of character tonight being down the way we were in the first half and being able to fight back and tie it up at the half and come out in the second half with a sense of urgency,” he said. “It was a tough one for my first win, but I’m happy and satisfied with it.”

On consecutive third-quarter possessions his penetration set up Wallace and Jason Maxiell for easy scores at a time the Pistons were groping for points. His steal led to a Hamilton layup for a 90-86 lead midway through the fourth.

3. BLUE COLLAR - Forget what the stats say. Bynum scored six points and dished out two assists in 16 minutes. But when he came in the game, the pace changed, the Pistons started breaking past Sacramento’s first line of defense and the comeback began in earnest.

He hit a reverse layup to start the fourth quarter, tying the game at 77. He set up Kwame Brown for a dunk that Brown had blocked, then again beat his man off the dribble and scored at the rim despite being challenged by 7-footer Spencer Hawes to put the Pistons up 86-84.

“With Stuckey out, we have total confidence in Will Bynum going in and being able to get to the basket and create shots for himself and others,” said Pistons coach Michael Curry, who also credited the ball pressure of Bynum and Afflalo (six points, four rebounds in 18 minutes) for turning the game around.

4. RED FLAG - He’s a three-time All-Star and the Pistons’ leading scorer for six straight seasons, so nobody’s really concerned that Hamilton’s shooting slump – he was 4 of 16 from the field – will become a long-term affliction.

But the timing of this one couldn’t be worse.

Between the unforgiving schedule, the absence of Stuckey and the transitioning offense, the Pistons need to know that the most reliable component they’ve possessed in this chapter of their history is there for them.

“The way we drew it up was for Tayshaun and Allen to be aggressive,” Curry said, “and also Rip. Rip’s out of sync a little bit. He didn’t make shots.”

THE LAST CALL
A little perspective on a big win

5. THE MONKEY’S GONE - The season isn’t two weeks old and the Pistons went into the game having won twice as many as they’d lost, but this felt like an important game. Not just because it was the first of a four-game road trip or because they’d lost their last two after starting the season 4-0, either.

But because the Pistons were 0-2 since Iverson first suited up – never mind the fact he’d had all of one practice before playing his first game and that he’s barely slept in the same bed on consecutive nights since the trade was made.

A loss at Sacramento would have put even more pressure on winning at Golden State – especially with a game at the unbeaten Lakers looming on Friday, followed by one at Phoenix to close the trip.

To get a win on a night Iverson was quintessentially Iversonian, putting up 30 points and playing 46 minutes while nearly throwing a triple-double on the board, makes everybody breathe a little easier.