"I have no excuses," he said. "I apologize to my teammates, first and foremost, the coaching staff, the organization and definitely our fans. It's something that shouldn't happen, and it won't happen again."

Rodney Stuckey started in place of Iverson against Milwaukee Friday night. Iverson will be back in the lineup against Portland Sunday afternoon.

Iverson called his absence from the team's one-hour practice a "personal matter." Iverson also drew a fine for his absence. Under the collective bargaining agreement, a first offense for a player missing practice is a $2,500 penalty.

"It can be a (lingering) problem, especially if it continues," Iverson said. "I talked to my teammates and they let me know they're still with me and I let them know I'm with them. It's just a mistake, something that shouldn't happen. I'm totally responsible for it. It's unacceptable and I've got to deal with it and move on."

Iverson spoke with president of basketball operations Joe Dumars Thursday night. Dumars told Iverson that the organization expected a more professional approach to work from the perennial All-Star.

"He was very supportive of me," said Iverson, who had 17 points and seven assists in his reserve role Friday. "He let me know how things are run around here and let me know it wasn't something that can continue to happen. He let me know it was unacceptable."

Tayshaun Prince, co-captain of the team along with Richard Hamilton, said the players accepted Iverson's apology. Prince was supportive of the way his first-year coach handled the situation.

"If you're late or you miss, to me that's the same thing," Prince said. "I've had an opportunity to be here long enough to understand how important it is to be on time. Either way, it hurts the team. But every time somebody has been late, they apologize and we move on. Good thing about it is, no matter who it is, everybody gets treated the same way."

Head coach Michael Curry established a series of penalties for various infractions before the season. The system doesn't play favorites.

"That's the way I do it," he said. "I try to keep it simple and by doing it that way, you don't have to worry about anything else.

"If someone looks at being on time as not a bad thing, well, it is. Because it's respect to your teammates, being here to practice. He apologized to his teammates, he apologized to all of us. Really, that's it. We move on."

PISTONS 107, BUCKS 97: The Pistons' bench, with Allen Iverson making a cameo there, scored 63 of Detroit's points against a depleted Milwaukee team that lacked center Andrew Bogut (knee) and guard Michael Redd (ankle). Forward Walter Herrmann made five 3-pointers and scored 13 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter for Detroit. The Pistons broke the 60-point barrier by halftime for the first time this season, leading 62-49 at the break.