Central Division battle at the Palace

Chauncey Billups poured in 23 points and dished out nine assists, leading the Pistons to a 94-85 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday in front of their home crowd.

Ben Wallace contributed 10 points, nine blocks and nine rebounds for the Pistons, who won their fifth consecutive contest at home. Richard Hamilton added 21 points in the victory.

Detroit is 5-1 at home this season.

New Orleans lost Friday when Reggie Miller hit two free throws with 8.4 seconds left in the game to lift Indiana to a 76-75 win over the Hornets at New Orleans Arena.

Baron Davis poured in a game-high 33 points, grabbed nine rebounds and handed out seven assists for the Hornets, who had their four-game winning streak halted. Davis ended 12-of-28 from the field, including 7-of-10 from three- point range.

P.J. Brown chipped in 14 points and eight rebounds, while David Wesley added 11 for New Orleans, which dropped its record on the year to 9-4.

George Lynch had a game-high 12 rebounds for New Orleans.

By losing to Indiana, the Hornets failed to match their team record of wins after 13 games, set last year.

The Hornets are 4-2 on the road this season.

In 2002-03, the teams split four meetings, as each team won once at home and once on the road.

Overall, the road team has won 11 of the last 14 meetings. The Hornets have won two in a row after losing the five previous contests.