
AUBURN HILLS -- Big lineup. Small lineup.
It didn't matter Tuesday night as the scrappy Charlotte Bobcats rallied with a furious finish to defeat Detroit 80-78. Bobcats guard Raymond Felton nailed a 19-footer over the outstretched hand of Rodney Stuckey for the game-winning basket with 0.7 seconds to play.
Detroit had one last chance, but Allen Iverson's desperation heave hit the front of the rim as time expired.
Felton's basket capped a 12-1 run by the Bobcats (15-24), who kept Detroit (22-14) without a field goal for the final 8:48 of the game.
During the run, Felton had 10 of his game-high 23 points.
"It really wasn't about taking over," Felton said. "It was about stepping up and being a leader."
For Detroit, it was a second consecutive loss.
This loss was a game Detroit let slip away.
"Fourth quarter, we ran some things and I thought we got good shots," Pistons coach Michael Curry said. "We just didn't finish the game."
The game's ending was similar to their last matchup in which Detroit nearly squandered a 24-point lead in the fourth quarter before winning 90-86 in Charlotte on Dec. 13.
"It felt like deja vu all over again from the last time we played them," Iverson said. "And this time, they won."
Felton's game-winning shot came moments after Rasheed Wallace was whistled for an offensive foul, his sixth of the game. Earlier, Wallace was whistled for his 13th technical foul of the season.
Wallace declined to comment following the game for fear his comments regarding the officiating would draw a fine.
Rodney Stuckey, who led all Pistons with 22 points, said Tuesday's loss falls squarely on the players.
"It was our fault tonight," he said. "The players need to share the ball more and that was pretty much it."
The dramatic ending briefly took some of the attention off the developing storyline involving the team's starting lineup.
Throughout the week, questions have been raised about whether Curry would move Allen Iverson or Richard Hamilton, who returned to action after missing eight consecutive games, to the bench.
Curry elected to keep both in the starting lineup Tuesday, a move he said he would stick with when Detroit travels to Indiana tonight.
Detroit's three-guard lineup got off to a solid start and held a 14-12 lead before Curry went with a bigger lineup. The bigger lineup played the rest of the quarter, which ended with Detroit ahead by the same two-point margin.
Iverson's buzzer-beating jumper capped off an 8-2 Pistons run that gave Detroit a 48-41 halftime lead.
The Pistons began the third quarter with the smaller unit, which pushed Detroit's lead to double digits, 63-53, following a 3-pointer by Rasheed Wallace.
Charlotte trimmed Detroit's lead to just six points heading into the fourth.
Iverson was well aware of all the chatter surrounding whether he or Hamilton would be coming off the bench. He said that was not the reason for the loss.
"We just got beat," Iverson said. "We lost a game we should have won easily."