Looking for a ‘Jolt,’ Pistons Fire Gentry

The Detroit Pistons, trying to motivate a slumping club for a playoff run, fired coach Alvin Gentry.

Gentry, who succeeded Doug Collins a little more than two years ago, was replaced on an interim basis by assistant George Irvine, who inherits a team that is 28-30, fourth in the Central Division and seventh in the Eastern Conference.

Irvine will coach the Pistons for the first time Wednesday night at home against Denver.

The Pistons have lost seven of 10 games and 11 in a row on the road. Detroit has repeatedly blown leads, having led in the fourth quarter in 10 of its last 13 losses.

Joe Dumars, the team’s vice president of player personnel, said management wanted to “give the team a jolt.”

Irvine, Gentry’s top assistant who at one time was the coach of the Indiana Pacers, has spent 10 years as an assistant with four teams.

Grant Hill called the firing a “tough, unfortunate” decision for a coach who “did the best job he could.” Gentry told WXYZ-TV that he does not believe Hill played a role in the firing.

“I don’t think they should make Grant Hill out to be the bad guy in this at all. I don’t think that Grant had anything to do with this. I would argue with anybody that said that,” he said.

This is the sixth NBA coaching change this season. The other changes were at Washington, Golden State, the Clippers, Phoenix and Vancouver.

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Charlotte Hornet guard David Wesley received a court date of May 15 on two misdemeanor charges stemming from January’s drag-racing crash that killed his friend and teammate, Bobby Phills. Police said Wesley and Phills were racing their Porsches at more than 100 mph when Phills lost control of his car and collided with an oncoming car. He was killed instantly. Wesley was driving with a suspended license at the time. . . . The Cleveland Cavaliers signed forward Donny Marshall to a second 10-day contract, and the Philadelphia 76ers did the same with guard Ira Bowman.