Detroit Pistons extend contract of forward Maxiell, sign guard Fitch

The Detroit Pistons exercised their option to extend forward Jason Maxiell's contract through the 2008-'09 season Monday, and signed guard Gerald Fitch.

Maxiell, who was drafted with the 26th pick overall in 2005, is expected to play a key role in Detroit this season.

He played a career-high 67 games last season, averaging five points, nearly three rebounds and almost a block in 14 minutes a game. In the eight games he started, he averaged 8.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in 26-plus minutes.

"Jason is a tough, physical player on the front line who continues to grow and mature within our system," Joe Dumars, the Pistons president of basketball operations, said in a statement. "We look forward to the contributions he will bring this season and beyond."

Fitch played in Europe last season after being cut by the Washington Wizards.

He played in 18 games for the Miami Heat during the 2005-'06 season and averaged 4.7 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 13.3 minutes.

Heat-Pistons Preview

PLAYOFF SERIES: Eastern Conference finals; Game 1.
TIME: Tuesday, 8 p.m. EDT.
Even though their journeys to get here didn't go as many expected, the Miami Heat and Detroit Pistons are squaring off again in the Eastern Conference finals.
Just as was the case last year, Shaquille O'Neal and the Heat enter well-rested as they try to prevent the Detroit Pistons from returning to the NBA Finals.
``That's what everybody expected,'' Miami forward Udonis Haslem said. ``I guess that's what everybody wanted to see. It's time for the games everybody wants to talk about to happen.''
Considering the Pistons finished with the league's best record and the Heat were No. 2 in the East, it was widely predicted these teams would meet in this round for a second straight season.
However, while most observers expected Miami to be in for a long series against New Jersey, the Heat blew through the Nets in five games in the semifinals. Detroit, meanwhile, was surprisingly pushed to seven games by an inexperienced Cleveland team, having to stave off elimination on the road in Game 6 before prevailing 79-61 in Game 7 at The Palace on Sunday.
That left the Pistons with only one day off between games - this will be their sixth game in 11 days - while the Heat are coming off six days of rest. Entering last year's East finals, Miami had eight days off following a second-round sweep of Washington, and Detroit needed six games to oust Indiana.
It was the Pistons, however, who won the series to reach the NBA Finals for a second consecutive year, taking Game 7 in Miami. This time, Game 7 would be in Detroit.
``We don't get the rest, but it's also a situation with Miami where they haven't played in a while, so you never know how that can turn out,'' Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince said. ``It feels good to have three or four days off, but when you have a little bit longer, I think you get out of rhythm a little bit.''
The time off should benefit the 34-year-old O'Neal, who has played well against the Pistons in recent years despite his teams not having the same success. The superstar center has been ousted from the playoffs by Detroit each of the last two years - the Pistons ended his eight-year run with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals - and Miami lost three of four games against Detroit this season.
Those four meetings saw O'Neal average 28.0 points - his most against any team during the regular season - and he's averaged 23.9 points and 9.1 rebounds while shooting 58 percent in his last 19 games against the Pistons. O'Neal's teams, however, have gone 6-13 in that span.
``We knew that we had to go through this team to possibly make it to the next level. Once again, we accept the challenge,'' O'Neal said. ``We know what we have to do as a team, just have to go out there and play hard and limit our mistakes. ... If we do that, we'll be fine.''
In their only win over Detroit this season, 100-98 on Feb. 12 in Miami on Dwyane Wade's 16-footer with 2.3 seconds left, the Heat committed five turnovers while the Pistons had 15. Detroit won the turnover battle in the other three meetings, forcing a total of 27 in the last two matchups to win by a combined 22 points.
Playing suffocating defense continues to be the key for Detroit even though it's considered to have an improved offense under first-year coach Flip Saunders.
The Pistons failed to score 85 points in any of the final five games of the second round, losing the middle three games, but held the Cavaliers below 31 percent shooting in Game 7.
``In a pressure situation, you do what you do best, and for us, that's defending,'' Saunders said.
Two days after holding LeBron James to one second-half field goal, Detroit hopes to shut down another third-year superstar.
Wade has scored at least 20 points in every game this postseason, and has reached 30 in four games. He averaged 28 points against the Pistons during the regular season.
A strained rib muscle kept him out of Game 6 in last year's conference finals and he was limited to 20 points in Game 7 as Detroit rallied from a 3-2 series deficit.
``His skills are similar to LeBron, but he's going to be the second option. LeBron didn't have Shaq on the block, taking up space in the paint,'' Detroit's Ben Wallace said. ``It's going to be a little bit tougher. We're going to ask guys to come out with a lot of energy and play hard. We're just going to do what we do.''
The Pistons may need more production in this series from Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace. Billups was limited to 14.9 points per game on 37.7 percent shooting in the second round, and Hamilton averaged just 15.7 points in the last three games. Wallace was held below 14 points in four of the final five games.
While Detroit can be led offensively by so many players, including Prince, who emerged to average 18 points in the Cleveland series, Miami's scoring output usually depends on O'Neal and Wade. The Heat, though, may have found a consistent third option in Antoine Walker, who averaged 19.7 points in the final three games against New Jersey.
``We're rested. We're healthy. I think we're happy,'' Miami coach Pat Riley said. ``And I hope we're humble, or more humble. We have to go up there and we have our work cut out for us with Detroit in Detroit. They're a great team.''
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Heat - 2nd seed; beat Chicago Bulls 4-2, first round; beat New Jersey Nets 4-1, conference semifinals. Pistons - 1st seed; beat Milwaukee Bucks 4-1, first round; beat Cleveland Cavaliers 4-3, conference semifinals.
PROBABLE STARTERS: Heat - F Walker, F Haslem, C O'Neal, G Jason Williams, G Wade. Pistons - F Prince, F Rasheed Wallace, C Ben Wallace, G Billups, G Hamilton.
PLAYOFF TEAM LEADERS: Heat - Wade, 26.0 ppg and 6.9 apg; O'Neal, 9.2 rpg. Pistons - Hamilton, 20.3 ppg; Ben Wallace, 11.0 rpg; Billups, 6.2 apg.

Pistons motor past Bucks in Game 1

Detroit can attribute much of its success in recent years to a combination of a strong defense and a balanced offense.
Sunday night, the top-seeded Pistons followed the same formula to dominate Milwaukee 92-74 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
Detroit started the final quarter with four players in double figures in scoring, and the Pistons were so tough at the other end that Milwaukee didn't have one.
"One of the strengths of Detroit's team is it's hard to focus on one guy," Bucks coach Terry Stotts said.
Milwaukee guard Michael Redd was held to 11 points on 4-of-15 shooting after averaging 25.4 during the regular season and 30 in four games against the Pistons.
"They obviously made Mike a priority," Stotts said. "They didn't give him any open looks."
Reserve Charlie Bell led the Bucks with 13 points.
The Pistons took control with a 13-2 run midway through the third quarter to go ahead 64-45, then responded when the Bucks showed signs of life to open the fourth.
Milwaukee scored the first eight points -- six on Bell's 3-pointers -- of the final quarter to pull within four, but couldn't stop four Pistons players from combining for an 11-0 run to give Detroit a 79-64 lead.
After easily winning their playoff opener, the Pistons hope it didn't cost them Richard Hamilton.
Hamilton limped off the court with a sprained left ankle after scoring his 21st point midway through the fourth quarter.
Detroit's leading scorer, who averages 20-plus points in the playoffs, rolled his left ankle early in the fourth and stayed in the game after a timeout. Hamilton appeared to be OK until he limped off the court in pain after his layup with 5:18 left gave the Pistons a 15-point lead.
"The first time, it was really hurting. I just tried to gut it out," he said. "The second time, it was more like me aggravating it."
Hamilton bristled at the idea that he should have stayed out of the game after he hurt his ankle the first time.
"I'm not sitting out," he said. "I don't care who would have told me to sit out. Coach tried to sit me out. I just told him, 'Let me just play. Let me see how it feels.' I didn't want to be sitting down over there, especially in the playoffs."
Hamilton had X-rays after the game, and the Pistons said they were negative.
"The nice thing is we have a couple of days off," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said.
Detroit hosts Game 2 in the best-of-seven series Wednesday.
Exactly 10 months after losing Game 7 of the NBA Finals at San Antonio, Rasheed Wallace and the Pistons opened these playoffs as if they were itching to get right back.
"This is what we've been looking forward to all year," said Wallace, who scored 17 of his 22 points in the first half.
But Wallace said the Pistons were too excited to play, leading to an uneven start.
"We were running around like chickens with our heads cut off, but we got it settled," he said.
Detroit's Tayshaun Prince scored 15, Chauncey Billups had 14 and reserve Antonio McDyess added nine points and 10 rebounds.
Milwaukee's Andrew Bogut had eight points midway through the second quarter but finished with just 10. Jamaal Magloire scored 11 points for the Bucks.
Milwaukee, the lone sub-.500 team still playing, is the first team in NBA history to make the postseason with at least four different starters from the previous season. Redd was the only starter who didn't make his postseason debut for the Bucks in Game 1.
"I thought we played well in stretches," Stotts said.
Free throws: The Bucks flew home to practice today.
** Detroit's Ben Wallace had 17 rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
** Milwaukee was without reserve forward Toni Kukoc (back spasms).
** The Pistons were 24-of-34 at the line while Milwaukee took just 10 free throws, and made eight.

Pistons' Billups plays like an MVP

Chauncey Billups helped the Detroit Pistons earn home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs and might have rekindled his MVP candidacy in the process.He scored 35 points against reigning MVP Steve Nash and his three-pointer with 3 minutes 40 seconds left put the Pistons ahead in a 109-102 win over Phoenix on Sunday.
The Pistons (59-14) clinched the best East record ahead of Miami, which was victim of the Nets' 12th straight win."I think I made a good case" for MVP, Billups said. "It would mean a lot. Not as much as another championship."Nash struggled Sunday, shooting 4-for-11 for 13 points.Van Horn breaks handMavericks forward Keith Van Horn, averaging 8.9 points in 20 minutes per game, broke his right hand during Friday's loss to Orlando and likely will undergo surgery.

The Detroit Pistons have Won 12 Straight at Home

The Detroit Pistons will welcome the Chicago Bulls tonight to The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Detroit, which just finished 2-2 on its four-game road trip, is the top team in the Eastern Conference and will have the comfort of home for Wednesday.
The Pistons are an amazing 26-2 at home this season and haven't ripped off 13 straight wins since their championship run in 1990.
In their last game on Saturday, the Pistons sustained a 105-94 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center. Chauncey Billups had 24 points and 10 assists and Richard Hamilton finished with 20 points for the Pistons, who have dropped two of three.
But now Detroit can beat up on the Bulls, who have lost all three meetings versus the Pistons this season. Detroit has won four in a row against the Bulls and 14 of the last 16 meetings.
Chicago, which has lost five of seven in Detroit, is coming off Tuesday's 95-87 win over the New Jersey Nets. Andres Nocioni scored a career-high 24 points as Chicago posted its second win in three tries.
Chicago has won just three of its last 10 road games and is 13-17 as the guest in 2005-06.
On a disappointing note for the Bulls, leading scorer Ben Gordon, who scored just five points against the Nets, has just six points in his last two games at Detroit.

WHAT THE PISTONS ARE SAYING: 81

In about 42 minutes Sunday night, Kobe Bryant made history, scoring 81 points in the Lakers' 122-104 win over the Toronto Raptors. Bryant made 28 field goals out of 46 attempts and hit 18 of 20 free throws to reach 81, second only to Wilt Chamberlain's 100 for most individual points scored in a game.
What a few Pistons had to say about the accomplishment:
Coach Flip Saunders
"Phenomenal. Amazing. (Sunday) was an NFL day. But the NBA stole the show ... I think the most amazing thing about Kobe scoring 81 was how easy he made it look. It's not like he made a lot of difficult shots. A lot of the shots he took were open shots. ... I was going crazy on the bench here trying to hold (Tracy) McGrady to 43 (Sunday), and Kobe had twice that. I said, 'I hate to see what I would have been like with a guy going for 81.' But I mean, he has the ability. He's a phenomenal player. He has a great amount of competitiveness, and I think the No. 1 thing, he said it after the game, was not about scoring 81, but that's what he thought he needed to do for his team to get the win. So I think he did what he had to do in order to get wins."
Guard Chauncey Billups
"That was unbelievable. I saw some of the game. It was great. I've never seen a performance like that ever ... He had it going. If you've got it going, you're supposed to keep it going. And I think people on his team should feel the same way. If you get someone on your team who's having a special night like that, it's only right to try and let it be as good as it can. You'll never see my 80. I'm not in that kind of shape to score that much. That's crazy. I think in high school one time I had 56. And my arm and my shoulder were so tired, I had to ice that thing down. That really takes so much energy to score those kind of points. ... No way I could do that."
Guard Lindsey Hunter
"See a guy score 81 points and nobody fouled out? That was my concern. I'm going to be fouled out of the game or something. Something has to give. My most ever was probably 48 in college and that was a big deal. It didn't even look right. I'm a defensive guy, so I look at the box, and say, 'Who fouled out?' Because if a guy is just scoring like that, I know I'm using my six (fouls)." (Raptors Chris Bosh fouled out and Morris Peterson and Matt Bonner each have five fouls.)
Forward Dale Davis
"No matter what type of game it is, to get 81 says a lot of his talent level. I don't think it's selfish. If a guy gets it going, if you're trying to win, you should want to get him the ball. He's the key to their team, so he's going to have to make shots for them. I scored in the 40s. I can't imagine getting up 40-some shots."

Hamilton and Wallace guide Detroit Pistons past weakened New York Knicks

Richard Hamilton scored 26 points and Rasheed Wallace added 23 to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 105-79 win over a weakened New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. Without injured leading scorer Stephon Marbury and suspended Antonio Davis, the Knicks could offer only mild resistance against the surging Pistons, who stormed to their sixth straight victory. Tayshaun Prince contributed 18 points to the Detroit total while Carlos Delfino added 11 and Chauncey Billups dished out 13 assists as the Pistons improved their record to an NBA best 32-5. Eddy Curry paced New York with 26 points and eight rebounds while Channing Frye added 15 as the Knicks slipped to their fourth straight defeat. The Knicks had to do without Marbury for a second consecutive game due to an injured shoulder and learned just before tip-off they would be without Davis for the next five games. Davis was handed the suspension for charging into the stands to confront a fan during Wednesday night’s game against the Chicago Bulls. Davis left the Knicks bench with 1:04 remaining in overtime and climbed into the stands to intervene after seeing what he thought was a fan harassing his wife. President of the NBA Players Association, Davis did not throw a punch or act aggressively toward the male spectator, who was seated near Davis’ wife, Kendra, and their two children. He was, however, ejected from the game and escorted from the court. Larry Brown, who guided Detroit to an NBA championship in 2004 and left at the end of last season to take over as coach of the struggling Knicks, got little sympathy from his former team. The Pistons roared to a 28-13 lead in the opening 12 minutes and led by as many 30 in the final quarter. In Sacramento, Mike Bibby bagged 40 points and Kenny Thomas had his first career triple-double to offset a brilliant performance from Kobe Bryant as the Kings battled to a 118-109 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Thomas had 16 points, including six in overtime, 12 rebounds and 10 assists while Brad Miller also contributed l6 points to the win. In claiming their third straight victory, the Kings had to overcome a 51 point effort from Bryant, that included a perfect 13-of-13 from the free throw line. Bryant, the NBA’s leading scorer, was on fire in the opening quarter hitting for 21 points to stake the Lakers to a 31-27 lead. However, it was the Kings that led 54-52 at the intermission, setting the stage for a seesaw battle in the second half. Trailing 102-97 with 35 seconds to play, the Kings rallied with Miller hitting a three pointer with four seconds left on the clock to send the game into overtime.

James solves Pistons

LeBron James scored 30 points with seven rebounds and seven assists yesterday in the Cleveland Cavaliers' 97-84 win over the Detroit Pistons, who had their winning streak stopped at nine and lost for just the fourth time this season.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 18 points, Larry Hughes 16 and Drew Gooden 12 with 13 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who posted their most impressive victory and improved to 13-3 at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Pistons, who came in on pace to win a record 73 regular-season games, shot a season-low 36 percent (29-of-81) from the floor and dropped to 24-4 -still one of the best starts in NBA history.
Mavericks 95, Hornets 90
Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points to help Dallas beat New Orleans.Jason Terry and Josh Howard scored 20 apiece for the Mavericks, who beat the Hornets for the 16th straight game dating to November 1999. David West led the Hornets with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Speedy Claxton came off the bench to score 17, and Chris Paul had 16 points and 10 assists.
Suns 107, Bulls 98, OT
Shawn Marion scored eight of his 28 points in overtime and Eddie House hit a key 3-pointer to lead Phoenix over the slumping Bulls.
Tied at 92 after regulation, Marion scored the Suns' first six points in overtime. His spinning layup on the right block made it 98-94 and sent the Bulls into a timeout with 2:17 left.
Warriors 94, Rockets 89
Baron Davis scored 23 points and Jason Richardson added 22 to help Golden State hold off reeling Houston.
Davis also had seven assists and five rebounds and Richardson added six rebounds and five assists for the Warriors.
Saturday's late game
Kings 116, Celtics 112
Mike Bibby had 33 points and 10 assists, Kenny Thomas added a season-high 29 points and the injury-depleted Sacramento Kings finished a dismal December with a win over Boston.
Kevin Martin scored a career-best 22 points for the Kings, who weathered Boston's impressive third-quarter rally with tenacious play in the fourth. Peja Stojakovic, Bonzi Wells and Shareef Abdur-Rahim all missed the game with injuries, but Sacramento won its second straight without three of its top four scorers.
Ricky Davis had a season-high 33 points for the Celtics.

Pistons impressed with play of Cavs

The Cavaliers didn't just beat the Detroit Pistons on Saturday, they impressed them.
It's a two-way street. After all, just 24 hours before tipoff, Cavs coach Mike Brown was extolling the Pistons' starting five as the ``best-ever.''
But the way the Cavs beat the Eastern Conference's reigning dynasty, getting ahead of the Pistons by 20 points for just the second time this season with smothering defense and game-long intensity, it reminded the Pistons of themselves a bit.
``They come to play every night,'' Pistons defensive master Ben Wallace said of the Cavs. ``That's all you have to do in this league to be successful.''
More and more and much to the pleasure of Brown, that's what the Cavs are doing. At the end of the Cavs' last bump in the road, when they dropped seven out of nine games last month, Brown insisted his team was getting better at team defense.
The Cavs are 7-1 in their past eight games with impressive wins over the Pacers, Heat and Pistons, and their defense has carried them.
In the past four games, the Cavs' opponents are shooting just 41 percent. In the past six, they're shooting just 26 percent from 3-point range, once a severe sore spot.
It is further indication that Brown's help defensive plan might be starting to sink in. Or it could be a blip on the radar in which the Cavs have benefited from playing a string of games at home. The Pistons left thinking it was the former.
``I think they're playing well as a unit... they're tough when everybody can contribute like that,'' Pistons guard Chauncey Billups said. ``You have to give them credit.''
Pistons' grumbles
The talk among some Cavs players after the game was just how much the Pistons complain to officials about calls, a reputation that has been getting around the league this season. Saturday, both Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess were hit with technicals for complaining about calls, even though the Cavs were called for more fouls and the Pistons took more free throws. The irony/coincidence is that the Pistons have had the fewest fouls called on them in the NBA this season and have taken 140 more free throws than the opposition.
Dribbles
Zydrunas Ilgauskas has three double-doubles in the past five games.... Taking advantage of Sunday's day off, Damon Jones flew to New York and appeared on ESPN's New Year's Eve coverage from Times Square.

Billups a triple threat at point guard

Point guard Chauncey Billups remains a Most Valuable Player candidate despite playing his worst game of the season (2-of-11 shooting, six turnovers) on Saturday against the Cavaliers.
The Detroit Pistons are the best team in the league, and Billups has played a large part for the Pistons' early run.
"[There are] several things you want in a point guard," said Pistons coach Flip Saunders. "You want a point guard who can distribute the ball, a point guard who can score and a point guard who can defend. He's the only point guard who can do all three."Billups is averaging 19 points and 8.6 assists per game. He's third in the league in assists, and his 44.6 3-point shooting percentage is eighth. Billups has two 30-point games and he dished out a career-high 19 assists against Sacramento earlier this season. But Billups' game has been more than statistics. He is already one of the best defenders in the game and he's been key to several huge wins for the Pistons.
Billups scored 28 points and had a career-best 19 assists against the Kings, 15 points, eight assists and just one turnover in only 26 minutes against the Bulls, and he had 21 points and 12 assists against Charlotte. He tied a season high with 30 points against the Heat last week.
This is all coming from a player who was the MVP of the NBA Finals two years ago. His play does not surprise Pistons General Manager Joe Dumars.
"It's not like he's come out of the blue," Dumars said. "He's been here for four years. Chauncey's been great for us for the past few years. Watching him play and seeing the freedom that he has on the court and what he's doing out there does not surprise me."
Come back:
Suns forward Amare Stoudemire may attempt to play this season after having microfracture surgery on his left knee in October. Stoudemire is back on the basketball court shooting free throws and doing some light work with some discomfort, but no pain.
Doctors now say he is ahead of schedule. Stoudemire, however, will not push things.