"The Pistons shut The Palace down for a bit to hold a rare pregame practice. They've only had two full practices the past two weeks and coach Lawrence Frank wanted to get some work in. But the other reason for the practice was to allow the team to bond more.

"We try to get as much court time as possible," assistant coach Dee Brown said. "We try to text each other and talk to each other as much as possible because it builds a brotherhood. You've got to build a brotherhood in Detroit and try to be around each other. You can text and Skype but we got to touch each other and be around each other and try to grow our game."

The Pistons (4-13) needed every bit of bonding while holding off the Trail Blazers, 94-91, on Saturday night before 14,456 at The Palace."