NBA Game Summary - Orlando at Detroit

01.3.2006

Auburn Hills, MI (Basketball News) - Chauncey Billups scored a career-high 37 points and added nine assists to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 108-99 win over Orlando at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Richard Hamilton chipped in 25 points for the Pistons, who won their ninth consecutive home game. Tayshaun Prince also reached double figures with 12 while Ben Wallace had 11 points and nine boards for the defending Eastern Conference champs, who had a nine-game winning streak broken on Saturday at Cleveland.

Dwight Howard paced the Magic with 22 points and 14 boards. Jameer Nelson had 18 points off the bench, while former Piston Grant Hill had 15 points and Tony Battie had 12 for Orlando, which had a three-game winning streak broken.

Detroit bounced back from just its fourth loss of the season with a dominant fourth quarter. The Pistons outscored Orlando 29-22 in the stanza to separate themselves in what had been a nip and tuck game.

Billups highlighted a 16-6 burst with 10 points that took Detroit from a 77-76 deficit to a 92-83 advantage with 7:20 left. He capped the spurt with a three-pointer.

Orlando closed to within six, 96-90, on a pair of Nelson free throws with 3:50 remaining, but the Pistons quickly answered with a Hamilton layup.

The Magic never got closer than seven the rest of the way, as Detroit extended its franchise-best start by improving to a sizzling 25-4.

The two teams battled to a 26-26 stalemate after one quarter.

Detroit took a slim 57-55 edge into intermission. Billups paced the Pistons with 18 while Howard had 11 for the Magic.

Detroit headed into the final stanza with the same, precarious two-point advantage, 79-77.

Both teams shot an identical 39-of-74 from the field...Orlando won the battle of the boards 35-32...The Magic bench outscored the Pistons’ bench 33-16 behind Nelson’s 18...The Pistons are a remarkable 13-1 in their building this season...Orlando is 4-7 on the road...The Pistons have won nine of the last 11 matchups with the Magic...Orlando has lost four straight in the Motor City...Billups’ previous career-best for points was 36, at Dallas on February 19, 2002.

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