Pistons improve to 4-1 with Webber as starter

Chris Webber doesn’t play like Ben Wallace. He doesn’t even play like the young Chris Webber.

That doesn’t mean he isn’t helping the Detroit Pistons.

Webber joined his hometown team this month, and the move has rejuvenated Rasheed Wallace and the rest of the Pistons. Webber and Wallace combined for 37 points, 20 rebounds and eight blocked shots Sunday to help Coach Flip Saunders pick up his 500th victory, a 95-87 win over the Indiana Pacers at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Detroit is 4-1 since moving Webber into the starting lineup last week.

“It feels good to be around Rasheed,” said Webber, who finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds. “He energizes me on the court.”

Wallace had 20 points and seven rebounds.

“I think Rasheed has realized that, with Chris on the floor, the other team can’t use their best defender on both of them,” Saunders said. “If they try to take one of them away, we can go to the other one.”

Wallace scored 14 points in the third quarter to help Detroit open a big lead, and Webber had three key baskets down the stretch to end an Indiana rally.

Jermaine O’Neal led all scorers with 26 points. He also had 12 rebounds and five blocks.

*

Milwaukee 107, New York 105 -- Mo Williams had 30 points, making a running, 20-foot jump shot with 3.1 seconds left, and 10 assists at Milwaukee to help the Bucks end a six-game losing streak.

Williams had sat out nine games because of a sprained left shoulder. Milwaukee, which nearly completed its first winless month at home in more than 15 years, led by 13 points with nine minutes left before New York rallied.

Jamal Crawford scored 17 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter for the Knicks.

*

Washington 105, Boston 91 -- The Celtics lost their 11th straight game and franchise-worst ninth in a row at home as the Wizards won for the sixth time in their last nine games behind Antawn Jamison’s 34 points.

Delonte West had 22 points and 11 assists for the Celtics.

*

An MRI exam on the left knee of Chicago Bulls center Ben Wallace revealed no structural damage after he collided Saturday with Miami’s Udonis Haslem. He is listed as day to day.