The way Reggie Theus screamed during the game may have been no different than the yelp he let out after it.

The Kings' coach, sensing the slip in his team's play, watched another offensive possession full of confusion and mishaps with five minutes to play, then screamed "No!" to no avail.

The frustration for Theus and his team had only just begun.

The Kings' 100-92 loss to Detroit at Arco Arena on Tuesday night was opportunity lost in almost every way imaginable.

It was a chance to reach .500 for the first time since Dec. 4, 2006, a chance to win a fourth consecutive game, and a chance to down a quality opponent and keep the Pistons winless in the three games since they traded for Allen Iverson.

Instead, the Kings blew almost every chance they had late.

After leading by as many as 15 points, the Kings committed five of their 13 turnovers in a late 4:27 span. That allowed the composed Pistons to pull away, as they finished on a 12-6 run.

After Beno Udrih was pickpocketed by Iverson, Richard Hamilton hit a layup on the break to start the downfall. A lazy Brad Miller pass atop the key continued the momentum turn. Rookie Jason Thompson lost grip of the ball, and Tayshaun Prince answered with a 20-footer. John Salmons drove into a crowded lane and gave it away. And Udrih finished what he had started, spinning into the key from the right side and all but placing the ball in Rasheed Wallace's gut. They had, quite literally, given the game away.

"None of (the turnovers) were caused by the other team," Theus said. "(It was) just carelessness on our part. Our guys – give them credit – I really felt like they outplayed (Detroit) for 42 minutes."

With the Pistons down one and 9:30 remaining, Iverson hit a three-pointer from the left corner to start a game-ending 19-10 run. Iverson had 30 points on 9-of-19 shooting. The Kings were led by Spencer Hawes' 19 points.

Thompson made his first career start because of Kevin Martin's ankle injury and produced with 15 points and nine rebounds from the small forward spot. Salmons filled Martin's shooting guard position and hit just 4 of 12 shots. It was incumbent starter Brad Miller, though, who struggled so mightily on a 2-of-16 shooting night.

"That was one of the worst games I've had since high school, college, pros, summer league," Miller said before continuing, "(while playing) PlayStation, (Nintendo) Wii, you name it. Detroit's a tough team."

Miller, like almost everyone else on the Kings' side, mentioned the officiating. A discrepancy of 19 free throws left Theus incensed.

"Thirty-six free throws to our 17 is ridiculous," he said. "Their stars got the calls down the stretch."

The Kings' start was their best of the season, as they hit six of their first seven shots while Detroit hit just one of its first nine. Thompson's first points as a starter capped the early outburst, as his nine-foot hook shot put the Kings ahead 14-2 less than five minutes in. By quarter's end, the Kings' 31-18 lead was built on their own sharpshooting (14 of 24) and a cold Pistons start (7 of 23).

But while the vaunted Detroit defense isn't what it once was, the Pistons did show glimpses of dominance in the second quarter.

Reserve guard Will Bynum was assigned to Udrih, and his end-to-end pestering helped agitate the Kings' offense into 8-of-22 second-quarter shooting.

Meanwhile, Iverson heated up to scored 10 second-quarter points on 4-of-6 shooting, and Detroit tied it 50-50 at halftime.

Hawes continued to produce off the bench, but his torrid pace (13 points in eight first-half minutes) was stymied by his foul trouble (three in that span).

Read the Kings blog at www.sacbee.com/kingsblog.