The Detroit Pistons' 106-80 loss to the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday was a bad loss by any stretch of the imagination.

The Timberwolves (3-9) came into the game winless on the road. One of the league's worst 3-point shooting teams, Minnesota made its first three against Detroit (8-5) and finished 7-for-11 on 3-pointers.

Only five teams have given up more points per game than Minnesota, and yet the Pistons managed a meager 34 in the first half.

"This is the sort of thing that will put a smile on your face," said Timberwolves coach Randy Wittman, after the worst loss Detroit has suffered at the hands of Minnesota.

For the Pistons, it was another head scratcher in what has been a season filled with unexpected results.

"It wasn't a good night for us, at both ends of the floor," said Detroit guard Richard Hamilton, who missed nine of his 11 shots from the field and finished with seven points.

Even Allen Iverson, one of the greatest scorers in NBA history, could muster only nine points on

3-for-11 shooting.

"I got some great looks tonight," Iverson said. "They just didn't go down. I stunk up the joint."

Iverson was not alone. The Pistons shot just 37 percent from the field.

Detroit coach Michael Curry can accept the fact there will be nights when his team does not shoot particularly well from the field. But what has disappointed him even more of late has been the impact those shooting woes have had on his team defensively.

"Offensively, we can get better," Curry said. "But until we get better offensively, we can't be bad defensively. The problem I have right now is we're allowing missed shots to affect the way we defend. That has to change."

Defensive miscues have been an issue throughout this young season for Detroit, especially when it comes to the opposing team's starting point guard.

Randy Foye became the latest playmaker to give Detroit fits, recording his first double-double of the season before the fourth quarter arrived. He finished with 23 points and 14 assists to go with two steals and a blocked shot.

Even with the problems defensively, conventional wisdom suggests that returning home for a long stretch of games might be the cure for those defensive woes.

Sunday's game was the first of four in a row for Detroit at The Palace of Auburn Hills, which will be their longest homestand of the season.

There still is plenty of time for Detroit to string together a good homestand, but losing to one of the league's worst teams -- and losing soundly -- is not the type of start they envisioned.

"It's very disappointing because you want to get a game on your home court," Hamilton said. "They've been struggling, and we knew that. And to get an opportunity to get a win on your home court, you want to take advantage of that. And we didn't."

While it is easy to point at players' shooting woes or the defensive struggles in rationalizing the lopsided defeat, Curry recognized that he also played a pivotal part in Detroit suffering its third loss of the season by 18 or more points.

"We haven't been ready to play and as the head coach of this team. I take full responsibility for that," Curry said.