NBA Game Summary - Washington at Detroit

Auburn Hills, MI (Basketball News) - Chauncey Billups scored 21 points on 7- of-9 shooting and Richard Hamilton added 20 along with eight assists as surging Detroit rolled to a 107-86 victory over Washington at the Palace.

Tayshaun Prince recorded 16 points and seven assists for the Pistons, who racked up a season-best 33 helpers as a team and dominated on both ends of the floor to earn their seventh win in eight games. Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace finished with 14 and 13 points, respectively, as Detroit continued its recent mastery of the Wizards.

The Pistons shot 53 percent from the floor, including a 6-for-12 clip from three-point range, and limited Washington to just 33 field goals in 91 attempts (36 percent).

Gilbert Arenas scored 16 of his team-best 24 points in the first half for the Wizards, who had a four-game win streak snapped and fell to Detroit for the ninth consecutive time. Fellow All-Star Antawn Jamison had 14 points but connected on just 5-of-19 shots and pulled down only two rebounds.

The Pistons took control with a 15-2 run late in the first quarter, in which Billups netted seven points, to turn a 16-14 deficit into an 11-point lead. A three-pointer by Arenas with 10 seconds left in the period brought Washington to within 29-21.

Another triple from Arenas cut the Detroit’s edge to 37-34 midway through the second quarter, and it remained a three-point game until the Pistons closed out the half with a flourish. Detroit recorded the final 14 points and went into the break with a commanding 56-39 advantage after Billups’ driving layup in the final seconds.

Washington outscored the Pistons 10-2 to begin the second half to close within single digits, but the hosts answered with nine straight points to pull away. A three-point play by Prince followed by back-to-back baskets from Rasheed Wallace built Detroit’s lead to 67-49 with just over four minutes gone by in the third quarter.

The margin grew to 20 points after Prince buried a three-pointer with 1:54 left in the third which made the score 80-60 and the Pistons went into the final period up 86-67.