There's a pattern developing with the Pistons, and it's not necessarily one they're enjoying.

Fall behind—fall behind big, actually—and stage a furious rally, only to come up short.

It happened Tuesday in Los Angeles against the Lakers. And the same scenario took place Wednesday in Portland, with another loss, to the Trail Blazers.

"We just can't put ourselves in such a big hole," coach John Kuester said.

The Pistons had only one assist the entire third quarter, which contributed to a Portland run that pushed the Trail Blazers' lead to 70-50 after three periods.

But the Pistons started playing team ball in the fourth quarter, played with unbridled energy, and cut the Portland lead to one point with less than two minutes to go.

Andre Miller had no excuses for Portland's near slip Wednesday night against the Pistons. "We relaxed," he said simply. Miller had 10 points and 11 assists for the Trail Blazers in their 87-81 victory over tenacious Detroit. Portland led by as many as 20 points in the second half, but the Pistons closed to 78-77 with 1:05 left.

When Lamar Odom pondered why the Los Angeles Lakers have been able to avoid losing three straight games for nearly two years, he instinctively glanced across the room to Kobe Bryant's locker. "That's a big reason," Odom said with a grateful nod. Bryant scored 40 points for the 100th time in his career, and the Lakers stopped a mini-skid with a 106-93 victory over the Detroit...

I kind of stopped writing about the Wizards, mostly because things have gone so far downhill since I gushed...

The Dallas Mavericks had several things going for them Sunday night. The Detroit Pistons were missing Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince, and leading scorer Ben Gordon had one of the worst nights of his career, going 1 for 16 from the floor. That wasn't enough to make things easy for the Mavericks, though, as they saw Gordon get an open look at a game-tying 3-pointer with 2 seconds left.

Gilbert Arenas briefly hauled the Hibachi out of storage, then opened up about his inconsistency this season. Perhaps it was because of the sting of his Washington Wizards' sixth consecutive loss, a 106-103 setback against the Ben Gordon-led Detroit Pistons on Saturday night. Perhaps it was because Arenas shot 0 for 6 in the first quarter.

The Detroit Pistons' rebuilding plan revolves around Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva. If the newcomers can play like they did Wednesday night against the Charlotte Bobcats, Detroit might not experience the demise many expect from its new-look roster. Villanueva scored a season-high 30 points, outscored the opponents by himself in the third quarter and Gordon had 22 points, eight assists and...

If anybody thought Ben Wallace was going to just play out the string this season with the Pistons, they had better reconsider. That's not at all how it's working out. Wallace has been rejuvenated by his return to Detroit, providing the same contributions that helped the Pistons win the 2004 championship and nearly repeat a year later.

Dwight Howard made up for a miserable performance against the Pistons three nights earlier. Even so, he was still irked by what happened in the fourth quarter. Howard's 22 points and 12 rebounds were enough to help the Orlando Magic hold off Charlie Villanueva and Detroit 110-103 Friday night, but the win was soured by the Pistons' 35-point fourth quarter.