Magic beat Pistons; Van Gundy to coach All-Stars

AUBURN HILLS, Mich.(AP) — Even though the Detroit Pistons are
having their worst season in 16 years, coach Stan Van Gundy knew
his Orlando Magic were in trouble Sunday night.

After all, the Magic had lost 10 of their last 11 visits to the
Palace of Auburn Hills, and they were knocked out of the
playoffs by the Pistons in 2007 and 2008.

Sure enough, Orlando blew a 15-point first-half lead and trailed
for much of the second half before rallying behind J.J. Redick
to post a 91-86 victory.

“This place has been a house of horrors since I’ve been here,”
Van Gundy said. “I’m glad we are done here for the season, and I
hope they don’t make the playoffs and get into a position where
we’ve got to come back.”

Orlando lost two players to injury during the game – Jameer
Nelson (knee) and Mickael Pietrus (ankle) – and had others in
foul trouble.

“We were rolling early, but we lost Jameer and M.P. and we had
Vince (Carter) and Rashard (Lewis) in foul trouble, and suddenly
it was a game again,” Van Gundy said. “I don’t think it matters,
though. I think you could put five 10-year-olds out there in
Pistons uniforms and we’d struggle in this building.”

The win means Van Gundy will coach the Eastern Conference in the
Feb. 14 All-Star game in Texas.

The Magic clinched the second-best record in the East through
January, behind Cleveland. Cavaliers coach Mike Brown is
ineligible for the honor this season because he coached the team
last year.

“We’re kind of going by default. I think Mike obviously deserves
it, but it will be a fun weekend,” Van Gundy said. “It will be
great for the league to be in Dallas.”

Redick led Orlando with 17 points, including 14 in the second
half. Dwight Howard added 16 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks
despite missing 10 of 18 free throws.

“We knew they were going to come back, but instead of giving up,
we got the win,” Howard said. “Even when they took the lead, we
thought we were going to win the game.”

Rodney Stuckey had 18 points and Tayshaun Prince added 16 for
Detroit, which lost its fifth straight.

“When you are going through a stretch like this – and we talk
about it being a work in progress – our guys did compete
tonight,” Pistons coach John Kuester said. “I thought they did a
nice job.”

Because of the injuries and foul trouble, Van Gundy had to use
veteran point guard Anthony Johnson for 20 minutes. Johnson, who
hadn’t played in Orlando’s previous four games, finished with
six points, three assists and the game’s biggest defensive play.
He picked off Ben Gordon’s pass to prevent a tying 3-point
attempt in the final seconds, then hit two free throws to clinch
the game.

“It’s been a while since I was out there, but I was ready,”
Johnson said. “Detroit plays slow and deliberate, so I was able
to keep my wind and make some plays.”

The Magic dominated early, but Detroit was within 48-45 at
halftime. The Pistons, who gave up 17 offensive rebounds in
Friday’s lopsided loss to Miami, allowed only one to Orlando in
the half.

Detroit started the second half with a 14-4 run to take a 59-52
lead and got some help from Howard, who missed seven free throws
in the first three quarters.

The Pistons were ahead 65-64 at the end of the period, but
Orlando rallied behind Redick’s jumpers. Three more missed free
throws from Howard slowed the surge, leaving the game tied at 79
with 3:54 to go.

Pietrus’ 3-pointer broke the tie with 3:30 left, but he turned
his ankle on the play and did not return.

Detroit was within one with a minute to play. Johnson missed an
off-balance runner, but Richard Hamilton and Gordon both had
go-ahead jumpers bounce off the rim.

Lewis made a pair of free throws to make it 89-86 with 9.5
seconds left, and Johnson jumped in front of Gordon’s pass.

“I just made a bad decision,” Gordon said. “I was in the corner
and tried to get it to Tayshaun, but Anthony Johnson made a
great play. I have to make better decisions with the ball.”

NOTES: Howard entered the game shooting 60.1 percent from the
line. … Ben Wallace blocked three shots, giving him 1,999 for
his career. With his next block, he will become the first NBA
player shorter than 6-foot-10 to block 2,000 shots. …
Detroit’s Charlie Villanueva was scratched just before the
opening tip because of back spasms. … Van Gundy said he didn’t
expect to know anything about the status of Nelson and Pietrus
until Monday.