Pistons Are Sunk in West

As Bonzi Wells sees it, the Detroit Pistons gave up on the wrong man.

Wells was a first-round pick by Detroit in 1998, but was shipped to Portland for a 1999 first-round draft pick before he’d played a game for the Pistons.

“You definitely want to let a team know who gave up on you that you can play in this league,” Wells said after scoring a career-high 37 points in the Trail Blazers’ 103-86 rout of the Pistons on Sunday night.

It was Detroit’s seventh consecutive loss.

Wells went on a tear in the third quarter, scoring 18 points to help the Trail Blazers pull away and win their fourth in a row. His previous best was 35, last season at Minnesota.

The Pistons finished their West Coast trip 0-5. They haven’t lost seven in a row since Dec. 16-28, 2001, a streak that also began with five straight losses in the West.

Portland led, 44-42, at halftime, but opened the third quarter with a 15-5 run. The Trail Blazers, who outscored the Pistons, 34-18, in the quarter, led by as many as 27 points.

“They executed great the entire game, but the third quarter they played at a different level than we did,” Detroit Coach Rick Carlisle said.

Wells drew the biggest cheer of the night when he made a three-point basket with 27 seconds left in the third quarter to increase Portland’s lead to 78-58. Afterward, he appeared to tauntingly pat the knee of one of the Detroit coaches and was issued a technical foul.

Chauncey Billups, coming off a season-high 33-point performance at Golden State on Saturday night, scored 21 to lead the Pistons.

“We are a good basketball team, and the most important thing for us right now is to stay confident and stay positive,” Billups said. “We know we are the same team that came out the No. 1 team in the East.”

Rasheed Wallace, who sat out Friday night’s victory over the Clippers because of a sore left Achilles’ tendon, scored 13 points for Portland.

The Trail Blazers have won six in a row against the Pistons and nine of the last 10.