The Detroit Pistons announced in a press release that they have re-assigned rookie center Cheikh Samb to their NBA Development League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants on Tuesday.  Sabm?s re-assignment marks the 36th assignment of the season.  

Samb, 7-1, 245-pounds, has appeared in two games for Detroit this season and is averaging 1.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 10.5 minutes per game.  In six preseason games for the Pistons, Samb averaged 4.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 17.8 minutes.

Pistons' coach Flip Saunders told the Detroit Free Press that he plans to continue playing forward Amir Johnson even though the matchups aren't always favorable.

Saunders wants to allow his younger bench players to earn their minutes as the team heads into the second half of the season.

"We need to see what we have with a lot of those guys," Saunders told the Free Press. "We can't expect to not play them, and then all of a sudden playoff time comes and we play them. So we might as well find out how some of our guys match up -- especially with these guys because there's a chance we could see them in the playoffs."

Chauncey Billups expected the Orlando Magic to be one of the teams to make a bid for him when he became a free agent over the summer.

"There were some teams that were talking certain situations, and Orlando was one of them," Billups told A. Sherrod Blakely of MLive.com. "I won't get into the particulars, but they weren't talking to me like they were talking to someone else."

"I know a lot of teams knew from the jump, getting me to leave here wasn't going to be easy," said Billups, who signed a five-year, $60 million deal with Detroit that includes the final year being partially guaranteed. "Like I told you before, this is where I wanted to be from the very beginning of my free agency, up until it was over. That was my whole thing; I wanted to come back here, finish my career here. I want to be a Piston and hopefully win a couple more championships and have my name hanging up there in the arena. It would have taken something really, really special for me to even consider leaving Detroit."

It has been more than three years since the infamous brawl at the Palace, and one of the key figures Ron Artest was back in town Friday for the Sacramento Kings' game against the Pistons.

This was only Artest's second trip to the Palace since Nov. 19, 2004, when the then-Pacer entered the stands and started throwing haymakers after he was hit with a cup while lying on the scorer's table.

Artest gave a simple shake of his head when asked whether returning conjures images of the night that went wrong. He said memories of that evening are "all gone."

"Especially when you've got a lot of fans," Artest said before Friday's game. "I used to read a lot of the blogs, and a couple people said they wouldn't mind seeing me play in Detroit. That's, like, a big turnaround from those days. That's a big turnaround, and you've got to be proud of that."

Artest a Piston? Even he thought that's a bit far-fetched.

"I wouldn't consider not playing here," said Artest, who scored 18 points in the Kings' 100-93 victory and blew kisses to the crowd after several baskets. The crowd booed him every time he had the ball. "But right now, I'm doing Sacramento. But it's not something I'm opposed to, you know. That would be a hell of a first day if Ron Artest was in a Pistons' jersey. That would be kind of crazy."

In an interview on Sunday, Chris Webber told News10's Bryan May that he will sign with a new club and be back on the court in a matter of days.

"I'll be back in two weeks playing basketball," Webber said.

Webber said he hadn't made any firm decision on where he would resume his NBA career, but the 16-year veteran said he had fielded offers from several NBA clubs and had narrowed his choices down to three teams. Webber declined to name the teams he was considering.

After the Detroit Pistons failed to resign Webber during the offseason, the five-time NBA All-Star
rejected offers to play in Europe, instead choosing to spend time with his family.

"This is the first year in 15 years that I've gotten to spend New Years with my family, Christmas with my family," Webber said. "I'm the oldest of five. For some reason it was just very important for me this year to be with my family."

The end of the Pistons' road trip was almost the worst night in their history.

Zach Randolph had 25 points and eight rebounds, and the Knicks rolled to an 89-65 victory over the weary Pistons on Sunday night.

- Detroit 90, San Antonio 80

Rasheed Wallace led the Detroit Pistons to an impressive victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night. The teams were very evenly matched statistically, but the Spurs turned the ball over fifteen times, which led to eighteen points for the Pistons. Detroit used a strong first quarter to take a 30-15 advantage over San Antonio, and the Spurs were never able to recover. Rasheed Wallace led the Pistons with 23 points, and 15 rebounds while Tim Duncan starred for the Spurs with 24 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Game FIC Scores
Rasheed Wallace, DET ? 27.5*
Tim Duncan, SA ? 26.125
Chauncey Billups, DET ? 12
Tony Parker, SA ? 2.875

- Sacramento 116, Memphis 113

Francisco Garcia hit a three-pointer with seven seconds left against the Memphis Grizzles to give the Sacramento Kings a 116-113 win on Thursday. The Kings overcame the Grizzles' hot shooting; Memphis went 13-for-26 from behind the arc, thanks to fourteen offensive rebounds. Sacramento was led by John Salmons, who tallied 28 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists. Rudy Gay starred for Memphis with 31 points and 7 rebounds. The Kings outrebounded the Grizzles 43-34 in the win.

Game FIC Scores
John Salmons, SAC ? 24.625
Rudy Gay, MEM ? 22
Brad Miller, SAC ? 19.75
Pau Gasol, MEM ? 7.75

- Utah 108, Phoenix 106

The Utah Jazz put the defensive clamps on the hot-shooting Phoenix Suns on Thursday, en route to a 108-86 victory. Mehmet Okur paced the Jazz with 24 points and 17 rebounds, and Ronnie Brewer added 21 points and 5 boards of his own. Leandro Barbosa led the Suns with 25 points while Amare Stoudemire posted 21 points and 13 rebounds. Utah held Phoenix to 37% shooting, while posting a nine-rebound edge over the Suns. Four Jazz starters scored in double figures, with Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams combining for 35 points.

Game FIC Scores
Mehmet Okur, UTA ? 23.5
Deron Williams, UTA ? 19.25
Amare Stoudemire, PHX ? 17.75
Leandro Barbosa, PHX ? 14.75

? RealGM calculates the Floor Impact Counter using the following formula: (Points + .75 Defensive Rebounds + Offensive Rebounds + Steals + Assists + Blocks - .75 Field Goal Attempts - .375 Free Throw Attempts - Turnovers - .5 Personal Fouls)

It is also used to rank players and to determine their ?Reina Value.?

Click here to view the player rankings with the Reina Value for the current season

Coach Avery Johnson said center Erick Dampier and guard Jerry Stackhouse (right thumb) both were cleared to play tonight against the Pistons.

Dampier had missed the last two games, and Stackhouse was out Sunday at Minnesota.

Considering the way Dampier was playing before sitting out, his return should bode well for the Mavericks. He made 11 shots without a miss in his last two games.

"I've been doing it for a while," he said. "The guys have hit me around the basket, and all I have to do is catch and finish, be there for the easy dunk."

The Celtics made quite a show of their win over the Pistons in Detroit on Saturday night with Paul Pierce yelling that the Celtics are the best team in the league, and several Celtics "popping" their jerseys, and, according to an ESPN.com report, with forward James Posey yelling to courtside fans, "Thanks for coming" and a mocking "Deeeee-troit basketball."

In the Pistons' locker room, that display was met with some smirks.

"They're acting like they won the title," forward Amir Johnson said.

Point guard Chauncey Billups took it one step further.

"They're a little more happy than I know we were when we won our game out there," Billups said. "It was just like a regular game for us with two good teams playing. They were kind of playing like it's the Super Bowl, man."

"It's just a regular game with two good teams playing. There was probably a little more at stake for them and their psyche than there was for us. But they won. It's cool."

In one of the top regular-season matchups in years, an unlikely player was the difference.

Just like the last time Boston played Detroit.

Rookie Glen Davis scored a career-high 20 points, giving the Celtics' Big Three a huge lift in a 92-85 win over Detroit on Saturday night in a marquee game that lived up to its billing.