INDIANAPOLIS -- The Detroit Pistons have a roster filled with players who have come up with game-altering plays in the closing moments of key matchups.
Yet, despite all that late-game experience, you would think the Pistons were a bunch of rookies, judging how they have struggled lately when the game has mattered most. Detroit's latest late-game collapse came Wednesday to the Indiana Pacers, who rallied -- courtesy of a slew of blown opportunities by Detroit in the fourth quarter -- for a 110-106 overtime win.
With the loss, the Pistons (22-15) have lost three in a row and four of their past five games. The loss snapped an eight-game winning streak against the Pacers (14-25).
"We put ourselves in a great position the last two games to win a ball game," Detroit's Tayshaun Prince said. "And we (didn't) do it. That's what makes it tough."
With one minute to play, Allen Iverson split a pair of free throws that gave Detroit a 93-91 lead.
On the ensuing possession, Indiana's Jarrett Jack drove into the lane and missed a shot.
Jack argued he was fouled on the play and was whistled for a technical foul with 48.2 seconds to play in regulation.
Prince, who had missed his previous two free throws, went to the line to shoot the technical foul and missed it.
Indiana made the most of Detroit's mistakes, as Danny Granger nailed a 19-foot step-back jumper to tie the game at 93-all.
Detroit had a couple opportunities to take the lead, but the Pistons squandered any chances they had.
"We got the ball into our playmakers' hands," Pistons coach Michael Curry said. "They made plays but just didn't convert."
That inability to convert in the closing moments is surprising for a team that once took pride in its ability to put teams away when the game was up for grabs.
Iverson said the team's late-game struggles have been surprising.
"It shouldn't come down to that. That's the whole thing in a nutshell," Iverson said. "We had the game in hand, and we had to come down to a shot like that to win the game. Even with all the
last-second shots that we had to take, it should never come to that. You don't base what goes on in a 48-minute game on a last-second shot. It shouldn't get to that."
But it has come to that, repeatedly.
And Detroit has failed to close the deal in those games, repeatedly.
Although Detroit remains a fairly confident team, these past three games have jolted the players' once iron-clad confidence.
Although it is early, players are starting to sense that these losses will come back to bite them later this season when they are jockeying for a good playoff position.
"We're kicking ourselves in the butt because we can't finish games," Detroit's Rodney Stuckey said.
"We have to straighten that out."
