Pistons welcome Magic to The Palace

The Eastern Conference-leading Pistons are four games ahead of Chicago and 4 1/2 games ahead of Cleveland for the top spot in both the Central Division and East standings. They posted a 91-83 victory on Monday over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

Chauncey Billups scored 22 points and dished out six assists to lead the Pistons, who have won five of their last six games. Richard Hamilton added 19 points and seven rebounds, while Tayshaun Prince had 12 points and eight rebounds in the Big Apple.

Detroit is back at home where it owns a 24-14 record this season.

Meanwhile, the Magic will resume a three-game road trip and are fighting for their playoff lives. Orlando has won two in a row, including Monday’s 117-94 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in the opener of the trip.

Hedo Turkoglu scored 25 points at the Bradley Center and Dwight Howard was a force with 15 points and 11 rebounds for Orlando, which is eighth in the Eastern Conference, just a game behind No. 7 New Jersey and two games ahead of Indiana.

The Magic will also visit Philadelphia on the trip and are 13-25 as the visitor this season.

Wednesday’s matchup between Detroit and Orlando is the fourth and final meeting of the regular season. The Pistons are 3-0 so far this season and have won seven of eight and 10 of the last 12 meetings.

Orlando has lost five straight and seven of its last eight in Motown.