Associated Press
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. ó Detroit can’t hold a lead against the Charlotte Bobcats.
On Tuesday night, it cost the Pistons a game.
A month after rallying from 29 down to nearly beat the Pistons in North Carolina, Charlotte overcame a seven-point 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 we should have won easily, and we didn’t get it done. That’s unacceptable.”
Raymond Felton, who had seven points in the late 9-0 run by the Bobcats, hit a game-winning jumper from 20 feet away with 0.7 seconds left.
“This was about stepping up and being a leader,” said Felton, who led Charlotte 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 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.”
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.”Felton scored five straight points to make it 78-76 with two minutes left, and Raja Bell made a jumper to tie it. After both teams missed go-ahead shots, Rasheed Wallace was called for an offensive foul with 29 seconds left. Richard Hamilton fouled Gerald Wallace with 8.5 seconds to go, giving the Bobcats a chance to set up a final shot.