Pistons lose in Iverson's debut

Newly acquired Detroit Piston Alan Iverson led his team in scoring, but the New Jersey Nets’ Devin Harris led all scorers with 38 points en route to a 103-96 victory.  Iverson had been acquired by Detroit earlier in the week from Denver, with the Pistons sending Chauncy Billups and Antonio McDyess out west.

The Pistons controlled the game in the first half, leading 27-14 at the end of the first quarter and 44-37 at halftime.  In the 2nd half, however, it was all New Jersey behind Devin Harris’ 19 third quarter points including a 13-15 mark at the free throw line.  Josh Boone added 18 points and 14 boards for New Jersey, who snapped an 8 game losing streak to the Pistons with the victory.

After the game, Harris’ minimized the significance of his individual superlatives:

"It was just about playing hard."We didn't get off to the best start. We have been really struggling in the third quarter but tonight we came out with more aggressiveness. Points for me didn't matter. It was all about the win. We desperately needed this for our confidence's sake."

Despite the loss, Iverson felt good about his performance in his first game with Detroit and expressed optimism about his future in the Motor City:

"It was a good feeling for me. I haven't been able to play for a while so it was good to get back on the basketball court. I'll try to get a little bit of my rust off."

"We had the game and we let it get away in the second half. Overall, it was a great experience for me. I felt fine out there, and we only can get better."