Pistons Win 10th in a Row at Home

On the night Ben Wallace broke Detroit’s shot-blocking record, Rasheed Wallace’s defense and clutch shooting Wednesday ensured the Pistons of their 10th straight victory at home.

Chauncey Billups tied a season high with 32 points and Rasheed Wallace had nine of his 24 during a key stretch of the fourth quarter to lift Detroit to a 102-95 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics.

Rashard Lewis’ three-point play midway through the fourth quarter put Seattle ahead, 83-82, its first lead in almost 10 minutes. The teams took turns with the lead before Rasheed Wallace turned two steals into a dunk and a mid-range jumper, giving the Pistons a 91-90 lead. Richard Hamilton then made a three-point basket, and Tayshaun Prince made two free throws to seal it.

“Sheed went on a little tear and when he gets rolling, it’s tough to stop him because he can do it at both ends,” said Ben Wallace, whose first of three blocks surpassed Terry Tyler’s club record of 1,070.

Lewis scored 26 for the SuperSonics, who had won four in a row on the road.

Seattle’s Ray Allen missed all four of his shots and was held to two points in the first half before finishing with 20 points on six-of-11 shooting.

Allen bristled when asked about his shot total, saying, “No, I’m not getting enough looks. You’ve gotta talk to the coach.”

Denver 120, Charlotte 101 -- Carmelo Anthony bounced back from being benched for the final 17 minutes on Sunday, scoring 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting in 21 minutes to help the Nuggets pull a full game ahead of the Lakers in the race for the final Western Conference playoff spot.

San Antonio 89, Minnesota 73 -- Tim Duncan scored 25 points and Robert Horry added 18, his highest total in two seasons in San Antonio, as the Spurs made 12 of their first 15 shots to open a double-digit lead they kept for most of the game.

In fact, the only negative for the Spurs was the ejection of The Coyote, the team’s mascot, by referee Jess Kersey for being on the court during play.

Boston 110, Toronto 109 -- Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker scored 24 points apiece and the Celtics nearly blew a 16-point fourth-quarter lead at Boston before winning their fifth in a row.

Houston 108, Portland 77 -- David Wesley and Bob Sura scored 21 points each at Houston to lead the Rockets to their sixth straight victory.

New Jersey 100, Chicago 84 -- Vince Carter had 30 points and Jason Kidd added 22 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists to help the Nets complete a season sweep of the visiting Bulls. Chicago played without Eddy Curry (hamstring).

Washington 122, Atlanta 93 -- Gilbert Arenas had 29 points as the Wizards used a 24-2 fourth-quarter run to win at Atlanta.

Milwaukee 96, Cleveland 88 -- Michael Redd scored 32 points as the Bucks withstood 34 points from LeBron James, extending the Cavaliers’ road losing streak to eight games while ending their three-game winning streak.

Memphis 88, New Orleans 82 -- James Posey scored 20 points and Earl Watson 16, including a three-pointer for the 12th and final lead change of the fourth quarter, to lead the visiting Grizzlies.

Indiana 103, Utah 84 -- Stephen Jackson scored 28 points and the Pacers made 37 of 43 free throws to win at Indianapolis.