Detroit Pistons Team Report - January 17

(Basketball News) - Richard Hamilton paced five Piston players in double figures with 17 points, as Detroit won its 11th straight game with a 98-77 rout of Washington on Friday at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Tayshaun Prince added 16 points, Mehmet Okur and Bob Sura each had 13, and Chauncey Billups chipped in 12, as the Pistons matched their third-longest winning streak in team history at 11 games. Detroit’s 1990-91 team also won 11 in a row.

"We have been playing great basketball," Sura said. "Tonight was probably our best performance of the season. We are really excited about continuing this 11-game win streak."

Detroit then took over the game with a dominating second quarter. After Etan Thomas opened the stanza for the Wizards with a traditional three-point play, the Pistons embarked on a 13-0 run. Chucky Atkins’ five points off the bench and Corliss Williamson’s four allowed Detroit to open a 31-23 advantage.

The Pistons outscored the Wizards by a 31-15 margin in the second period, and took a 49-35 lead into the locker room.

The third quarter was quite similar to the second, but this time it was the Pistons’ starters who did most of the damage. Billups scored all 12 of his points in the period as Detroit pushed its lead to 80-54 after three quarters of play.

The final period allowed both teams to empty their benches. Detroit’s Darko Milicic, the No. 2 overall pick in this past year’s draft, actually played a season-high nine minutes but did not score.

Detroit dished out a season-best 31 assists on 40 buckets. The Pistons shot 52 percent from the field.

The Pistons visit the Milwaukee Bucks tonight.