Wallace Is Chairman of the Boards

The secret is out about one of the league’s best defensive players.

Ben Wallace set an NBA season high with 28 rebounds, scored 13 points and blocked six shots as the Detroit Pistons beat the Boston Celtics, 109-101, Sunday at Auburn Hills, Mich.

“This was definitely his coming-out party,” said Joe Dumars, the Pistons’ president and former star shooting guard. “People saw what he’s been doing for us for two years.”

Each time Wallace grabbed a rebound, a white T-shirt with a red ‘R’ was handed out to fans in the fourth row behind the scorers’ table.

“I wanted to wrap those T-shirts all around the arena,” Wallace said with a grin. “But I think they were running out, so I slowed down.”

The Pistons are showing no signs of slowing down the momentum they picked up two months ago. They have won 22 of 30 games, and five of six.

Jerry Stackhouse had 30 points, eight assists and eight rebounds and Cliff Robinson had 20 points and seven assists for the Pistons, who kept their 31/2-game lead over Milwaukee in the Central Division and stayed close to New Jersey for the best record in the Eastern Conference.

Paul Pierce scored 35 points and Antoine Walker had 28 for Boston, which has lost four of five.

Milwaukee 110, Orlando 85--The Bucks shot 62.3% through three quarters to build the lead to as much as 27 at Milwaukee. The Magic played without the injured Tracy McGrady and two other top scorers, then lost Troy Hudson in the third quarter after he took a hard spill.

Glenn Robinson had 25 points and 10 rebounds to help the Bucks end a four-game losing streak.

McGrady, the NBA’s fourth-leading scorer, sat out the game after back spasms forced him out of Friday’s game against Charlotte. The Magic already was without Mike Miller (sprained ankle) and Grant Hill (ankle surgery), who has been sidelined most of the season.

Toronto 92, Washington 91--Michael Jordan committed a costly turnover and missed a potential game-winning jumper at the buzzer at Toronto.

Antonio Davis stole the ball from Jordan and made a layup to give Toronto a 92-91 lead with 15.7 seconds left. Jordan, guarded by Jerome Williams down the stretch, missed an 18-foot jumper as time ran out, sealing the victory for the Raptors.

Jordan, playing his third game since returning from knee surgery, had 14 points in 23 minutes off the bench.

Charlotte 99, Indiana 84--Jamal Mashburn matched a season high with 36 points and Baron Davis added 21 points and 11 assists at Indianapolis to help the Hornets move past the Pacers in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Charlotte moved into sole possession of seventh place in the conference with the victory, which extended its winning streak to six, the longest in the East.

Philadelphia 90, New York 82--The 76ers won their first game since learning that star guard Allen Iverson would be out four to six weeks because of a broken bone in his left hand.

The Knicks used three three-point baskets by Latrell Sprewell during an 18-9 run to close within three with 1:13 left at Philadelphia. But the 76ers scored seven straight points, capped by Speedy Claxton’s three-point play, to seal the win.

New Jersey 116, Atlanta 102--Jason Kidd made two consecutive three-pointers to ignite a late run that carried the Nets to a franchise-record 10th straight home victory.

The victory, which put the Nets on the verge of clinching a playoff berth, came with a price. Kenyon Martin picked up yet another flagrant foul for elbowing Shareef Abdur-Rahim in the face with 9:06 left. It gives him eight flagrant-foul related points, which means he will be suspended for the next two games.

Houston 116, Golden State 114--Kenny Thomas scored a career-high 31 points and Steve Francis had 24 at Oakland as the Rockets ended their four-game losing streak and extended the Warriors’ streak to 10 games.