Felton's last-second jumper beats Pistons 80-78

AUBURN HILLS, Mich.(AP) The Detroit Pistons can't hold a lead against the Charlotte Bobcats.On Tuesday night, it cost them a game.A
month after rallying from 29 down to nearly beat the Pistons in North
Carolina, Charlotte overcame a 78-71 deficit in the final three minutes
to win 80-78 on the road."It was like deja vu all over again,
except this time we lose the game,'' Allen Iverson said. "We were up
78-71 in a game that we should have won easily, and we didn't get it
done. That's unacceptable.''Raymond Felton scored seven points in the final 9-0 run, including a game-winning jumper with 0.7 seconds left."This
was about stepping up and being a leader,'' said Felton, who led the
Bobcats with 23 points. "I was just trying to get shots for my
teammates, but the ball kept coming back to me, so I took the shots and
they went in.''Felton said the huge rally on Dec. 13 helped the Bobcats believe when they trailed late on Tuesday."We
showed ourselves that time that we had a lot of fight and that we
wouldn't give up,'' he said. "We stayed in the game and this time we
made the big shots.''Richard Hamilton returned after missing
eight games with a groin strain, meaning the Pistons went back to a
three-guard lineup despite going 6-2 without Hamilton."It's a
simple matter of getting your best five guys out there as much as
possible,'' said Pistons coach Michael Curry, adding that the lineup
would stay the same Wednesday in Indiana.Gerald Wallace added 18
points and 10 rebounds for the Bobcats to help Larry Brown beat the
Pistons for just the second time in seven tries since leaving Detroit
after the 2004-05 season."That was the best defensive half we've
played all year, especially in the fourth quarter and down the
stretch,'' Brown said. "We gave up 48 at halftime and 78 for the game,
so we had a heck of an effort in the second half.''Rodney
Stuckey scored 22 points. All five Detroit starters reached double
figures, but the bench had just six points in 64 minutes."We got
some good minutes from our bigs off the bench, and they played good
defense,'' Curry said. "That's what we need from those guys.''After
trailing by as many as 10 in the third, the Bobcats were within four
early in the final period, but couldn't get enough stops to make a
serious run until Felton scored five straight points to make it 78-76
with 2 minutes left.Stuckey missed, and Raja Bell answered with
a jumper to tie it. After both teams missed go-ahead shots, Rasheed
Wallace was called for an offensive foul with 29 seconds left.Hamilton fouled Gerald Wallace with 8.5 seconds to go, giving the Bobcats a chance to set up a final shot.Felton waited until the final second, then made a 20-foot jumper. Iverson missed a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer.Notes:
Four of Detroit's starters went to the Charlotte bench to hug Brown
before the game. Wallace, Tayshaun Prince and Hamilton won a
championship with him in 2004, while Iverson played for him in
Philadelphia. ... Rasheed Wallace picked up his 13th technical in the
third for arguing after picking up two fouls in less than a minute. He
will pick up an automatic suspension if he gets to 16. "He has got to
have more self-restraint,'' Curry said. "He owes it to the team to show
that restraint.''