AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Where did he go? Where did he go?
That's what the Jazz may have wondered about Cedric Ceballos, the veteran small forward who came off the bench to score 4 points in nine minutes for the Detroit Pistons during the first half of their 94-79 loss to Utah Sunday night.
Ceballos, though, didn't play in the final two quarters against the Jazz.
Where did he go? The answer: Miami.
Ceballos was traded — during halftime, according to unofficial word circulating after the game — from the Pistons to the Heat for a conditional second-round draft choice.
The move was made in light of Detroit's recent acquisition of ex-Minnesota Timberwolf Joe Smith, who Sunday had 10 points in 17 minutes during his second game with the Pistons.
ANTICLIMACTIC: Jazz guard John Stockton played his 1,271st game for the Jazz on Sunday night, officially passing former Boston Celtics great John Havlicek for most games with the same NBA franchise.
Stockton tied Havlicek on Friday in Utah, where he was honored in a pregame ceremony prior to the Jazz's victory over New Jersey. On Sunday, the Pistons also recognized the accomplishment — and postgame talk again included the impressive achievement.
"It's quite an accomplishment in my opinion," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "You know, I've been here almost his entire career — except the first eight or 10 games that he played. . . . He's an enthusiastic guy. He loves to play basketball. It's not a fluke thing that he's been able to do that."
Stockton scored just 1 point Sunday on a technical free throw, but the NBA's all-time assists and steals leader did post a game-high 15 assists.
THE OTHER VIEW: The Jazz patted themselves on the back a bit Sunday for finally slowing Detroit's Jerry Stackhouse, who scored a game-high 37 points. Stackhouse, though, saw his late-game woes a little differently than those from Utah.
"I don't think that we really had a letdown in the fourth quarter," he said. "They got that little spurt at a bad time, and we lost a little continuity. We didn't make any big shots, and at the same time they compounded that by hitting shots."
OW: Jazz starting center Olden Polynice played on despite hurting his right hand in the early going.
"I was playing like (crap) most of the night — really playing tentative because of my hand, and I kept thinking about it," said Polynice, who rebounded to score 6 of his 8 points on three straight third-quarter baskets. "Finally I said, 'You know what? The h--- with it. . . . If it hurts, it hurts; if it breaks, it breaks. The h--- with it. Just go out there and play.' "
MISC.: When the Pistons signed Smith, they made room by waiving former Jazz draft choice Torraye Braggs from the injured list and placing forward Billy Smith on it due to recurring back spasms. . . . Pistons starting point guard Chucky Atkins left early with a sprained left ankle but returned 11 minutes into the second half. . . . Jazz backup center Greg Ostertag left the game briefly to have one of his ankles re-taped.
E-MAIL: tbuckley@desnews.com