Conley, Milicic lead Grizzlies over Pistons 89-84

AUBURN HILLS, Mich.(AP) Darko Milicic had
played 56 times at the Palace of Auburn Hills without ever reaching
double figures in points or rebounds before Sunday.In his 57th
try, he finally showed a glimpse of why the Pistons drafted him ahead
of Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh.The No. 2 pick in the 2003 draft had 12 points and 11 rebounds to help the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Pistons 89-84."It's
especially good to beat Detroit and in their house,'' Milicic said.
"We've learned from losing a lot of tight games - when we make
mistakes, the other team scores. Tonight, we didn't make those
mistakes.''Mike Conley had 20 points for Memphis, which ended a
seven-game losing streak to the Pistons. Detroit, which trailed by as
many as 21 points in the first half, fell to 2-11 on Sundays."We
were down 17 points at the half to the Memphis Grizzles,'' said an
obviously frustrated Michael Curry. "We didn't come ready to play, and
there's no excuse for that. We made sure this team was rested, but
we're not taking care of ourselves on Saturdays. I could speculate on
the reasons, but you'll have to ask the individuals.''Another fabled draft bust, Kwame Brown, couldn't explain it. Brown had six points and a season-high 13 rebounds in 26 minutes."Maybe it is some kind of Sunday jinx,'' he said. "We just shot ourselves in the foot in the first half.''Antonio McDyess led the Pistons with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Richard Hamilton had 14 points and 12 assists.A
jumper from McDyess gave the Pistons a 78-77 lead with 5:16 left, and
the teams traded the advantage until the last minute. Tayshaun Prince
missed a potential go-ahead runner with 26 seconds left, forcing
Detroit to foul.Conley hit two free throws to make it 87-84, and Hamilton missed a 3-pointer. Quinton Ross then iced the game from the line."This
was a huge step for us,'' Conley said. "We've been in that position a
lot, and we let the game get away from us. For us to make the stops and
then execute on offense - that's big.''Memphis led by as many as
21 points in the second quarter and was up 57-40 at intermission. The
Grizzlies shot 68 percent in the half while holding Detroit to 42
percent."That was fun,'' Conley said. "Rudy (Gay) was doing a
great job of getting everyone involved - he passed the ball more than
I've ever seen him.''Things got worse for the Pistons when
McDyess, who had played just eight first-half minutes because of foul
trouble, picked up his fourth in the first 90 seconds of the third
period.McDyess stayed in, and his offense helped the Pistons
narrow the gap to 61-51. His nine points had Detroit within 73-66 at
the start of the fourth quarter.Notes: The game was Detroit's
first since longtime owner Bill Davidson died Friday at the age of 86.
The sold-out crowd observed a moment of silence before the game, and
the Pistons wore a black ribbon on their left shoulders. ... Milicic, a
member of Detroit's 2004 championship team, paid tribute to Davidson
before the game. "He was a great man, and he was a winner,'' he said.
"I know this is a sad day for the Pistons organization, and I'm going
to miss him.'' ... Memphis' Marko Jaric, an 81-percent shooter from the
line, missed all three attempts after being fouled on a 3-point try in
the second quarter.