Prince, Pistons down Mavericks

Richard Hamilton had 15 points and Chauncey Billups totaled 12 points, 11 assists and five steals for Detroit, which snapped a two-game skid and won for the ninth time in 11 games.

"Sheed was great," Billups said of Wallace. "Defensively he was great. He controlled the paint. He rebounded the ball."

Dirk Nowitzki had 29 points and nine rebounds for Dallas, which has lost two of three since a 12-game winning streak. Jason Terry added 17 points and Josh Howard ended with 12 points and 12 boards for the Mavericks, who lost at home to an Eastern Conference opponent for the first time since falling to Philadelphia, on January 29, 2005.

Dallas had its seven-game home winning streak broken.

"They just had us spread out tonight on the defensive end and we struggled to rebound the ball," said Dallas’ Jerry Stackhouse, who was held scoreless in nearly 18 minutes. "We were taking the ball out of the basket way too much tonight."

The Pistons led by as many as 18 in the fourth quarter and held a commanding 86-70 advantage with 5:03 left. However, Dallas closed within 88-82 following a Terry free throw with 1:17 left.

Nowitzki then missed a three-pointer from the right corner in the final minute, and Prince sealed the win by making a layup and converting a three- point play after he was fouled by Austin Croshere to push the margin to 91-82 with 36.3 seconds left.

The Pistons used an 11-2 run to hold a 29-20 margin after the opening quarter and led the rest of the way. Prince’s three-pointer capped the push.

Detroit led by a sizeable amount throughout the second quarter, on the way to a 52-44 advantage at the half.

Nowitzki’s jumper pulled Dallas within 54-48 in the minute of the third, but Nazr Mohammed’s two baskets, and a technical free throw from Billups after an illegal defense call made it 59-48.

The Pistons continued to widen their lead late in the third, to 76-60 going into the fourth.

Game Notes

Wallace ended 5-of-8 from beyond the arc...Dallas shot 41.9 percent from the field...Detroit held a 44-36 advantage on the glass.