Rasheed Wallace

Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace to miss two games with ankle injury

Detroit Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace will miss the next two games with an ankle injury.

Team president of basketball operations Joe Dumars made the announcement Friday, saying Wallace will sit out Saturday's game at New Jersey and against Seattle at The Palace on Sunday.

Wallace has been bothered by a sore right ankle for more than a week.

Wallace is averaging 13.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game this season.

Rasheed Wallace fires up five threes to lead Pistons over Mavericks 92 82

Rasheed Wallace was feeling good that he took three-pointers on three of four possessions _ and made them all.

Wallace was having fun, too.

After nailing his second three-pointer in that stretch, he jabbed his index finger and screamed ``Pow!'' When the next one banked in, he hollered, ``I called that!''

With Wallace sinking five three-pointers and scoring 19 points, the Detroit Pistons built a big lead over the Dallas Mavericks and protected it down the stretch for a 92-82 victory Thursday night.

``I was just getting open looks,'' said Wallace, who scored 10 points in the first quarter, then hit his trio of three-pointers in the third. ``It was good ball movement, swinging the ball to the open man. ``That's all it was.''

Well, it was a couple of other things, too.

First, he was fired up by going against Dirk Nowitzki.

``A lot of people talk about the great power forwards in the league. I want to let them know I'm still around,'' Wallace said.

And there was the memory of a 37-point loss in Dallas early last season. The Pistons trailed 40-16 after the first quarter of that one and never recovered.

``We had in mind what they did to us in the first quarter here last year and we weren't going to let that happen again,'' Wallace said.

Wallace helped Detroit lead 29-20 after one quarter. The Pistons got the first basket of the second quarter, too, and remained ahead by double-digits for all but two memorable stretches.

Dallas got within seven before Wallace's barrage of three-pointers, then the Mavericks had another rally that cut an 18-point Detroit lead to 88-82 with 1:17 left.

After Wallace missed two free throws with 54 seconds left, Nowitzki _ who scored 29 points _ took a three-pointer that could've gotten the Mavs within three. It hit the rim and bounced all the way up to the shot clock. So did Dallas's next shot.

The Mavericks didn't score again, ending a 22-game home win streak over Eastern Conference teams that dated to Jan. 29, 2005. They also lost for the second time in three games since a 12-game winning streak. Their loss Monday night in Washington was a blowout for most of the game, too.

``Everything we threw at them, they were able to counter and still score baskets,'' said Josh Howard, who scored 12 points but none in the second half. ``We had a meltdown in D.C. and we did it again tonight.''

Tayshaun Prince led Detroit with 20 points, Richard Hamilton scored 15 and Chauncey Billups had 12 points and 11 assists. Most importantly, the Pistons looked far more like a team that recently won eight straight than a club that had lost its last two.

``Everybody was locked into what we were doing,'' coach Flip Saunders said. ``What we can take from this is we played playoff basketball in a regular-season game.

``We played our tempo, played good defence, hit the offensive boards and kept the turnovers down.''

Jason Terry scored 17 points for Dallas and Dampier added 12. No one else did much, with starter Devin Harris going 0-for-6 for one point in 28 minutes and Jerry Stackhouse going 0-for-4 and failing to score in 18 minutes.

At least Stackhouse had an excuse: He was trying to play through a groin injury sustained the previous game. He said he'll likely miss the next game, Saturday against Denver.

``We had no energy tonight,'' Mavs coach Avery Johnson said. ``Our body language was not good.''

Filling the front row around the court were about 120 military personnel, part of the third annual ``Seats For Soldiers'' event. Season-ticket holders donated their seats to the soldiers, most of them flown in from Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. Others came from a National Guard unit based in Fort Worth.

Many of the vets from Brooke are recovering from injuries suffered in Iraq or Afghanistan. They all received a standing ovation between the first two quarters, their names scrolled on the overhead monitor while the song, ``Proud To Be An American'' played.

Notes: Stackhouse last played 18 or more minutes without scoring on May 2, 1999, while playing for Detroit. It's happened only one other time in his 737-game career. ... Rookie Pops Mensah-Bonsu was the first player the Mavs sent to the Developmental League. ... Detroit G Lindsey Hunter has a sprained left ankle and isn't on the trip. Rookie Will Blalock was active in Hunter's place. ... Among the inspiration soldier stories was a woman walking with the aid of a cane. She was part of the inaugural seats event in 2004 while in a wheelchair, facing a prognosis of never being able to walk again.

Rasheed Wallace scores 18 points to lead Pistons over Celtics 101 88

Rasheed Wallace had another slow start for the Detroit Pistons. On Friday night, though, he stuck around long enough to find his groove.

Ejected from the season opener without scoring a point, Wallace stayed in the game against the Celtics long enough to total 18 points and nine rebounds and help the Pistons beat winless Boston 101-88.

``I never worry about shots with 'Sheed, I worry about his energy and his mind-set out there,'' said Detroit guard Chauncey Billups, who had 20 points and 11 assists with no turnovers.

``I knew that he wanted to play and I knew that he was ready to try to get this win. So when he struggled offensively, I never worried about that. I was just happy that his energy level was up.''

Richard Hamilton scored 27 points and Antonio McDyess had 10 rebounds for the Pistons, who lost their opener to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday. Wallace was scoreless in that one before he was kicked out midway through the third quarter for arguing with the officials _ an early lesson on the NBA's new crackdown that has been attributed by many to him.

``I'm still out of rhythm a little bit, but I'm not worried about that at all,'' he said. ``As far as getting my bearings, I'm not where I want to be yet. But it's still early in the season and it's not a concern for me.''

Paul Pierce scored 22 points with eight rebounds, Wally Szczerbiak scored 18 points and Al Jefferson came off the bench to get 11 points and 10 rebounds for Boston. The Celtics scored 10 straight points at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth to take a 75-73 lead, then gave up nine in a row to fall behind for good.

Wallace assisted on Carlos Delfino's layup that gave the Pistons a 77-76 lead with 9:00 left, then Hamilton made a free throw. After Wallace made a layup, Hamilton hit two jumpers to give Detroit an 84-76 lead.

Billups had two baskets and Wallace followed with a dunk and a pair of free throws to make it 92-80 with under three minutes left.

The Pistons finished with just six turnovers in the game _ none in the first half.

``They're a veteran team,'' Pierce said. ``They understand what they're trying to do out there. That's what we're trying to learn.''

The Celtics opened on Wednesday with a loss to the New Orleans Hornets that tainted a tribute to franchise icon Red Auerbach, who died Saturday at the age of 89. The former coach, general manager and president was involved in each of the Celtics' NBA-record 16 championships, but lately he has been mostly the team's traditional touchstone.

So it was natural that the debut of the Celtics' new dance team _ the last franchise in the NBA to add such a pep squad _ was delayed until Game No. 2. But the arrival of the scantily clad soft-steppers, like the homage to Auerbach at the opener, was unable to inspire the Celtics to victory.

``Our guys are close; that's all I can say,'' coach Doc Rivers said. ``I like this team. They're fighting their butts off. They're close. This is frustrating. But I like them.''

Detroit led by as many as nine points in the third quarter, and had a 73-65 lead with 50 seconds left in the period. Pierce hit a 16-footer and then tracked down an offensive rebound and fired up a three-pointer to make it 73-70.

Notes: Boston F Kendrick Perkins went to the locker room after a cut on his head opened in the third quarter. He received three stitches and came back for the fourth quarter. ... Detroit swept the three-game series with Boston last season and has won five straight and 10 of 11 overall against the Celtics. ... Boston has lost seven of its last eight games dating to last season. ... Celtics PG Sebastian Telfair had one assist in 19 minutes. Rajon Rondo came off the bench with six assists in 31 minutes.