Over the past five seasons, the Detroit Pistons have been one of the NBA's toughest teams to beat -- except for the Utah Jazz.
Deron Williams scored 29 points and Utah won its seventh straight over the Pistons, who extended the Jazz to double overtime before falling 120-114 Friday night.
"It's special, because that's a tough team and this is a tough place to play," Williams said. "Our styles are similar, so it is always a physical, defensive battle."
Mehmet Okur, who finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds, is 8-1 against them since leaving Detroit after winning the 2004 NBA title.
"We just play good against them," he said. "I don't know, but I like it."
Paul Millsap added 24 points and 12 rebounds as Utah took advantage of a starting lineup that averaged 30 pounds heavier than Detroit's new small-ball group.
Detroit coach Michael Curry, though, felt that sticking with three guards -- Rodney Stuckey, Allen Iverson and Richard Hamilton -- was worth giving up size inside.
"I thought we won that battle," he said. "Yes, they posted us up a few times, but we were able to get Allen and Rip free. AI had 38 and Rip scored 30, and I'll take that."
Allen Iverson led the Pistons with 38 points, and Richard Hamilton added 30.
Rasheed Wallace's 3-pointer pulled Detroit within 96-94 with 1:20 to play, and Rodney Stuckey picked off the inbounds pass and laid it in to tie the game moments later.
Okur and Wallace both missed, giving the Jazz a chance at what they thought would be the final shot of regulation. Williams drove on Stuckey, then stopped and pivoted to hit a short jumper with 2.2 seconds left. Hamilton, though, took the ensuing inbounds pass and hit a baseline jumper to send the game to overtime.
The game was tied at 104 when Tayshaun Prince's running hook beat the shot clock with 36 seconds left in the extra session. After Williams retied the game, Iverson passed up a potential winning shot in order to pass to Stuckey, who missed an open 3-pointer to send the game to a second overtime.
"I'd take that look 100 times out of 100," Iverson said. "I knew that everyone on their team knew that I was going to shoot, and that's why Rodney was so open. That shot wasn't even contested -- it just didn't go down."
Wallace had fouled out late in the first overtime, and both Hamilton and Stuckey did the same in the first 90 seconds of the second. That forced Detroit to use a makeshift lineup that included Walter Herrmann, who hadn't played in the first five periods.
"It's tough when you lose that many guys, especially when they don't have anyone foul out," Iverson said.
The Pistons still were within 113-112 with a minute to play when Kyle Korver hit a 3-pointer to make it a four-point game. Iverson answered with a layup, but Andrei Kirilenko hit two free throws and Herrmann's 3-pointer rimmed out.
That was good news for Williams, who played a career-high 46 minutes on a sore ankle.
"I was ecstatic when Kyle hit that three, because I didn't know if I had another overtime left," he said.
Iverson wound up playing 54 minutes, tying LaMarcus Aldridge for the most in an NBA game this season.
Detroit led 80-73 early in the fourth quarter, but Utah got back into the game with a 15-2 run that included eight points from Okur.
"We just need to keep playing," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "We continue to come out a little sluggish, but I was very happy with our second half, especially the two young guys."
Game notes
Late in the second overtime, McDyess became the fourth Pistons player to foul out. Utah did not have a single player with more than four fouls. ... Wallace also picked up his 10th technical foul for arguing a call in the fourth quarter. ... Four Jazz players -- Williams, Millsap, Korver and Okur -- played the most minutes of their careers. ... Detroit hadn't had two 30-point scorers in the same game since Hamilton and Chauncey Billups did it against Golden State on March 1, 2003.
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