Los Angeles has soapy glitz, Detroit has toughness.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

Byline: John Eligon

LOS ANGELES _ Under one roof Saturday, there was The Diesel, The Wunderkind and a man they call Prince _ or at least they used to.

The ballyhooed Christmas Day matchup between the Lakers and the Heat (or Kobe Bryant vs. Shaquille O'Neal, as most people referred to it) united everything that is Lakers basketball_an exciting show on the court coupled with a glamorous, star-studded scene around it.

The Pistons, on the opposite end of the spectrum, are an organization stamped with the blue-collar label. In Detroit, there are no inviting palm trees surrounding the arena and games aren't a powwow for red-carpet regulars.

"This is the Motor City, where a lot of people here are workers," said Pistons guard Lindsey Hunter, who won a championship with the Lakers in 2002. "L.A., that's the movie star capital. That, within itself, creates a big difference."

Saturday's Christmas Day game at the Staples Center featured two separate dramas.

There was "The Talent of Shaq & Kobe" _ two of the greatest players in Lakers history _who paved the way for an exciting …