Detroit's season-long losing streak remains intact -- now at five, and growing -- following Saturday's 91-85 loss to the New Orleans Hornets who improved their record to 24-13.

Detroit (22-17) has not lost five in a row since the 2003-2004 championship season.

And this loss, like the previous four, came down to the Pistons not getting big plays from their best players when the game mattered most.

But on Saturday, Detroit clearly played with more fight and intensity than they showed in the previous four defeats.

"I don't care nothing about that," said Detroit's Allen Iverson. "I been in this league 13 years. I don't care about moral victories. They don't mean nothing to me."

One of the few bright spots for Detroit was the play of Jason Maxiell, who had 11 points and eight rebounds off the bench after not playing (coaches decision) in Detroit's two previous games.

"Max was good," said Pistons coach Michael Curry. "His activity level was high, and his rebounds were high. When he plays with that type of activity, it's really beneficial for us."

The Pistons certainly needed all Maxiell had to offer after getting off to yet another slow start in the fourth quarter.

Detroit had a one-point lead at the start of the fourth, only to fall behind by five points in just 92 seconds.

Detroit's fourth-quarter scoring woes were similar to the fourth quarter in Friday's 89-79 loss at Oklahoma City, a game in which Detroit didn't score until an Antonio McDyess jumper with about six minutes to play.

Doing most of the damage for New Orleans down the stretch was their do-it-all playmaker, Chris Paul.

The 6-foot guard finished with 23 points and 14 assists which included a killer cross-over dribble past Antonio McDyess to seal the victory with 27.2 seconds to play.

From the game's opening tip, the Hornets tried to do what most teams have tried against Detroit's three-guard lineup -- go at whoever Iverson was guarding.

With Detroit's small-ball lineup, Iverson is the one Detroit player who seems to be at a size disadvantage almost every game.

On Saturday, the 6-foot Iverson was matched up with Rasual Butler who is seven inches taller.

But Iverson wasn't deterred, using his quickness to get into the lane to score eight first-half points.

Detroit scored six in a row to take a 16-11 lead in the first quarter.

But New Orleans, getting solid play from Paul, cut into Detroit's lead which stood at 20-18 after the first quarter.

Iverson, who has struggled lately with his shot, had seven first-quarter points on 3-of-5 shooting.

Detroit continued to play well in the second quarter, as the Pistons pushed their lead to 34-27 following a driving lay-up by Richard Hamilton.

But the Hornets, one of the top teams in the Western Conference, had plenty of fight.

After Hamilton's basket put Detroit up by seven, the Hornets closed out the quarter with a 12-3 run to lead, 39-37 at the half.