Pistons take big step toward home court advantage

Billups also dished out 12 assists for the Pistons, who remain comfortably atop both the Central Division and the Eastern Conference. Richard Hamilton added 21 points, while Antonio McDyess chipped in with 18 points and a season- high 13 rebounds for Detroit.

LeBron James finished with 20 points after going scoreless in the first quarter for the Cavaliers, who fell four games behind Detroit in the Central. Zydrunas Ilgauskas tallied 15 points and Aleksandar Pavlovic chipped in with 14 points.

Detroit entered the final frame up by six points but the Cavs slowly chipped away and finally deadlocked things at 78 when Larry Hughes buried a jumper with 3:47 left.

Seconds later, Ilgauskas dropped in another jumper and Cleveland was in front, 80-78.

But, Billups had the answer and stuck two consecutive shots for the Pistons, who were back on top 82-80 with a little over two minutes remaining.

After the teams exchanged free throws, Billups found a diving McDyess for a thunderous slam with 45.9 ticks left that ignited the crowd and sealed things for Detroit.

The Pistons used their customary staunch defense to jump out to a 29-17 lead after the opening 12 minutes but Cleveland rebounded with a solid second quarter and trailed by just four, 44-40, at intermission.

Detroit continued to play frontrunner through three quarters, 64-58.

Game Notes

The Pistons are 24-14 as the host this season...Cleveland is 19-21 as the visitor this season...The Pistons are 32-5 when they hold their opponent under 90 points.