Hamilton and Billups lead Pistons over Sacramento

Rasheed Wallace added 19 points and eight rebounds, while Tayshaun Prince contributed 13 points for Detroit, which has won seven of its last eight contests. Ben Wallace had a solid defensive effort with a season-high 17 rebounds, along with five blocks and four steals.

Billups had an outstanding game offensively, going 10-of-15 from the field, including 6-of-8 from three-point range.

"We all know he can make shots, but when he gets a lot of assists it means our offense is working," said Pistons head coach Flip Saunders. "You look at the top point guards in each conference and there’s Steve Nash in the West and Chauncey in the East. He’s the one guy in the league at that position who has the complete package."

Brad Miller had a team-high 16 points and nine rebounds for the Kings, who had a three-game winning streak broken. Mike Bibby and Shareef Abdur-Rahim added 14 points in defeat.

"I think he’s underrated," Bibby said of Billups. "He deserves a lot more credit than people give him. I think he’s one of the top guys in the league."

Nine straight points by the Pistons extended them to a 36-23 lead in the opening quarter. Hamilton had six of those points, as Detroit led 36-27 after 12 minutes.

A free throw by Jason Hart boosted the Kings to a 40-37 edge early in the second quarter, but the Pistons responded with a 15-2 push. Prince’s three- pointer capped the spurt with 2:05 left in the half and Detroit led 56-48 at halftime.

Seven straight points by the Kings had them within 67-66 following a Miller jumper with 6:47 remaining in the third quarter. However, the Pistons embarked on a 15-6 run to take control. A three-pointer by Billups and driving layup by Prince ended the rally with 2:14 remaining in the third, and the Pistons were in front 83-75 going into the fourth.

The Pistons held a double-digit lead the remainder of the game.

"We just wanted to be aggressive and get off to a good start," Billups said. "We did that, but struggled a bit in the second quarter. We knew at halftime that we had to put it on them a little. Our big guys played great, too. It was a great effort by everybody."

Game Notes

Detroit’s 16-3 start ties the 1996-97 franchise record...Corliss Williamson had 11 points and Peja Stojakovic scored 10 for Sacramento, which shot 50 percent from the field...Detroit shot 50.6 percent and made 10-of-20 three- pointers...Detroit has won three straight meetings.