Los Angeles - With three key players out with injuries, Allen Iverson stepped in to rescue the Detroit Pistons. Iverson scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half, and the short-handed Pistons clipped the visiting New Jersey Nets 83-75 on Wednesday for their fifth straight victory.
Detroit played without All-Star guard Richard Hamilton, out with a groin injury, top reserve Antonio McDyess (sore ribs) and lost starting centre Rasheed Wallace to a sore right foot in the second quarter. However, the resilient Pistons relied on Iverson's offence, and a stifling defence by a makeshift lineup to hold the Nets to a season-low point total on 37 per cent field goal shooting.
"It is just hard being that you get used to having them out there," Iverson explained. "Nobody is going to come out and be 'Sheed, Rip or McDyess, but we have guys that will come off the bench and help us in their own way and bring to the table what they can do."
Tayshaun Prince had 16 points, Rodney Stuckey added 11, while Arron Afflalo and Amir Johnson contributed 10 and eight, respectively, as the Pistons (19-11) led virtually the entire way before holding off a late charge.
"With all three of our guys out with injuries it was rough," Pistons coach Michael Curry said. "I thought our other guys stepped up and played great for us tonight."
Brook Lopez led the Nets (15-17) with 23 points and 12 rebounds, while Devin Harris had 19 points and nine assists. However, All-Star guard Vince Carter finished with just four points before getting ejected for protesting a call too vehemently midway through the second stanza.
"I thought we lost a lot of rhythm in the second, especially when Vince got thrown out," Harris said. "Still, this is a good measuring stick. Thus is a team that has been to the Eastern Conference finals a bunch of years in a row, and we were right there with them, even without Vince."
The Nets trailed by as many as 16 before rallying to within 75-72 on a short hook shot by China's Yi Jianlian with 3:06 minutes remaining. However, Iverson answered with a pair of short jumpers, and made two free throws with 11 seconds left to seal the win.
Elsewhere: Orlando Magic 113, Chicago Bulls 94 Rashard Lewis scored 16 of his 21 points in the opening half, and the visiting Magic buried the Bulls en route to its eighth win in the last nine games.
Turkish sharpshooter Hedo Turkoglu netted 18 points while Dwight Howard added 15 with 14 rebounds as Orlando (25-7) built a 65-38 halftime cushion en route to bouncing the Bulls for the sixth straight time.
Frenchman Joakim Noah led Chicago (14-18) with a season-high 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Houston Rockets 85, Milwaukee Bucks 81 China's Yo Ming had 22 points with 10 rebounds while Argentina's Luis Scola added 11 and 10 boards as the host Rockets edged the Bucks for the eighth consecutive time.
Ron Artest scored 15 points, including two key free throws with 37 seconds left for Houston (21-12) after the Bucks cut a 15-point deficit to 78-77.
The Rockets announced they re-signed 42-year-old unrestricted free-agent centre Dikembe Mutombo.
Michael Redd scored 20 while Luke Ridnour had 11 points with 11 assists for Milwaukee (15-18) which has lost nine in a row at Houston.
Denver Nuggets 114, Toronto Raptors 107 Brazilian centre Nene led seven teammates in double figures with 21 points, and Carmelo Anthony had 20 as the visiting Nuggets gave George Karl his 900th career regular-season coaching victory.
Italy's Andrea Bargnani topped Toronto (12-20) with 26 points. Chris Bosh had 24 with 11 rebounds, and Spanish point guard Jose Calderon finished with 16 points and 11 assists.
Oklahoma City Thunder 107, Golden State Warriors 100 Jeff Green scored 26 points, Kevin Durant had 25 and Chris Wilcox added a season-high 23 off the bench as the league-worst Thunder (4-29) earned just its fourth victory of the season.
Kelenna Azibuike topped visiting Golden State (10-24) with a season-high 24 points. Stephen Jackson had 16, while Andris Biedrins contributed 15 and 13 rebounds.
Philadelphia 76ers 100, LA Clippers 92 Andre Iguodala had 28 points, including four game-sealing free throws in the final eight seconds, and Thaddeus Young added 20, helping the visiting 76ers end a four-game slide.
Al Thornton scored 24 points, and Eric Gordon had 23 for the Clippers (8-23) who lost their fifth in a row. Marcus Camby finished with 15 along with 17 boards.
