Stuckey leads Detoit’s “B” squad to 94-90 over Minnesota
With mentor Chauncey Billups watching his every move from the sideline, rookie Rodney Stuckey did his best “Mr. Big Shot” impression for the Detroit Pistons’ “B” squad.
As Billups has done so many times before in a Detroit uniform, Stuckey did much of his damage when his team needed him most, scoring 12 of his career-high 27 points in the fourth quarter to lift the Pistons to a 94-90 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night.
“I’ve always said he’s one of those guys, the bigger the game, the bigger the situation, the more responsibility he has and he wants,” said Pistons coach Flip Saunders, who gave Billups, Rasheed Wallace and Richard Hamilton the night off to rest up for the playoffs. “He took that responsibility and made plays.”
Detroit trailed by 21 points midway through the second quarter, but after a pep talk from Billups and ‘Sheed, Stuckey took over in the fourth. He hit a step-back jumper over Randy Foye to give the Pistons a 90-88 lead with 45 seconds to go and added three free throws down the stretch.
“We just came in at halftime and Rasheed and Billups and those guys said I wasn’t being aggressive enough,” said Stuckey, the 15th overall pick out of Eastern Washington. “In the second half I was just trying to be more aggressive and get the ball to the basket.”
Al Jefferson had 26 points and seven rebounds, but only managed 12 shots while being hounded by double- and triple-teams all night.
Foye scored 18 points, but was just 6-for-14 from the field, committed a costly turnover in the closing minutes and rushed an off-balance shot out of a timeout with 45 seconds to go to seal the loss.
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Detroit Pistons, The Defenders
