Richard Hamilton scored 19 points and the Detroit Pistons concluded a wild day by beating the Charlotte Bobcats 101-83 Monday night, ensuring Allen Iverson will join an unbeaten team.

Playing short-handed hours after acquiring Iverson in a blockbuster deal with Denver, the balanced Pistons toyed with former coach Larry Brown's new team, improving to 3-0 and perhaps showing Iverson that he'll have plenty of scoring options when he takes over at point guard.

Rasheed Wallace added 15 points and four other players scored in double figures. Rodney Stuckey replaced the departed Chauncey Billups and had nine points and three assists filling in at the point for Detroit, which shot 50 percent.

Shannon Brown came off the bench to score 16 points, and Gerald Wallace had 15 points and 12 rebounds for Charlotte, which couldn't build off Saturday's win over Miami in the beginning of a week of reunions for the well-traveled Brown.

The Brown-Pistons matchup lost much of its luster thanks to a deal that reshaped the Eastern Conference power.

The Pistons arrived in Charlotte on Sunday while president of basketball operations Joe Dumars worked into the night on a trade he felt would give his team a different way to win games "other than the same predictable way we've been doing it for quite some time.''

Informed they were headed to Denver early Monday, Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb left town before the morning shootaround. It left Detroit with 12 players - and Stuckey starting at point guard - against their former coach.

Stuckey, wearing No. 3 in perhaps a precursor to the Iverson era, had only one turnover and Detroit showed its depth, inside play, rebounding prowess and steady outside shooting to overwhelm Browns' Bobcats.

Brown, who led the Pistons to the NBA title in 2004, has his own problems with Charlotte. And the Bobcats proved no match, even with Iverson not scheduled to join the team until Wednesday in Toronto.

Hamilton, who agreed to a three-year contract extension Monday in the midst of the Iverson trade, scored 11 points in the third quarter when the Pistons pulled away. His 3-pointer and mid-range jumper on consecutive possessions made it 76-60.

Playing again without forward Sean May, who is struggling with his weight and conditioning following knee surgery, the Bobcats couldn't recover with their undersized lineup that included 6-foot-7 Jared Dudley at power forward. Held most of the time to one shot, the Bobcats were outrebounded 42-31.

Charlotte did recover from a 12-point first-half deficit, but faded in the second half as Jason Richardson was held to four points on 2-of-10 shooting.

Before the game, Brown chatted with some of his former players and team officials, even though he had an ugly departure from Detroit in 2005. There will likely not be such a friendly greeting on Wednesday when Brown and the Bobcats visit New York, where Brown went 23-59 in one season before getting fired in 2006.

Notes: Stuckey wouldn't say whether he'll give up his No. 3 jersey to Iverson. "We're going to have to talk about that, I guess,'' Stuckey said. ... More than 2 1/2 hours before tipoff, May was on the floor doing conditioning drills. Brown said May will remain on the inactive list until he gets into game shape following microfracture knee surgery. "It's not any punishment,'' Brown said. "It's what's best for him right now.'' ... Referee Bennett Salvatore hit Rasheed Wallace with a technical foul in the third quarter.

Bobcats Head Coach Larry Brown
(On the team's bench play)
"In the second quarter I was thrilled; they came out and executed great and made shots. We settled for outside shots early but in the second quarter we played great. Our bench got us back in the game. It’s hard to ask the bench to play against their guys; they’re terrific and well coached. They shot the ball well and they executed, but the biggest difference was they just man-handled us on the boards. When we cut it to 10 late, with about six minutes and change, they would come up with a bunch of second shots. They did an amazing job on pick and roll; we didn’t handle it really well. It shows you how far we have to come."

(On the play of Jason Richardson and Gerald Wallace)
"I don’t think it’s them. Richardson’s a pretty good defender, plus you have to defend him, then you have Gerald playing 4 against some size because we don’t have a lot of options. Raymond (Felton) tweaked his hamstring; I thought he was a little bit slow, it’s great that he tried to play. Right now we have a lot young kids that are asked to play a lot."

(On Adam Morrison’s play)
"He’s unsure of himself in terms of jumping. If he goes left he’s okay if he goes right it seems as if he has a little trouble. When he’s shooting a half hook-half jump shot, he’s not nearly as explosive but he’s making progress."

Bobcats guard Shannon Brown
(On his play tonight)
"I just tried to go out there and do whatever it took for us to get a win. Unfortunately, we came out on the short end of the stick. I think we battled pretty well. My teammates and my coaches have given me a lot of confidence and (Bobcats Managing Member of Basketball Operations) Michael Jordan has given me a lot of confidence. I’ve been doing a lot of praying."

(On the play of the Bobcats bench)
"It’s a long season, and everybody from the first man to the quote-unquote last man can play. That’s why they’re in the NBA. Our bench did a great job of coming out and bringing a lot of energy and keeping us in the game."

(On playing point guard)
"It felt good (playing at point guard). I was able to get us into some stuff and my teammates did a great job of finishing and executing plays."

Bobcats guard Jason Richardson
(On the Pistons playing after today’s trade)
"They bonded together. (Chauncey Billups) was one of the main guys on their team. Those guys have been with him a long time. Any good team would bond together and find a way to win the game, and that’s what they did tonight. They played hard, they rebounded and they did everything they were supposed to do to win the game."

(On his play tonight)
"It was a bad shooting night (for me). You’ll have those. You play a lot of games and you’re only human. But I’ve still got to find a way to help this team win games even if I have a bad shooting night. I’ve got to rebound, I’ve got to play some defense and I’ve got to find a way to help this team win."

(On the play of the Bobcats bench)
"Our bench came in and gave us a lot of energy. The starters didn’t really have it tonight, and we need to bring it every night, but the bench came in and held us up tonight. They came in with energy, played defense, started sharing the ball and they gave whatever they could to help us try to win this game."

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