Pistons hammer Hornets

Tayshaun Prince scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Pistons, who snapped a three-game losing skid with the win. Carlos Delfino scored 13 points for Detroit, and Jason Maxiell added 12 points.

Jannero Pargo led the Hornets with 16 points and eight rebounds, but couldn’t prevent their third straight defeat, and their sixth in seven games. Desmond Mason scored 15 points for the Hornets, and Devin Brown added 14 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Tyson Chandler only managed three points, but did rake in 16 rebounds for the Hornets.

New Orleans/Oklahoma played without Chris Paul, who sat with a sprained right ankle, and continued to miss Peja Stojakovic and David West, who are recovering from back and elbow surgery, respectively.

The Hornets cut to within 77-63 on a Cedric Simmons alley-oop dunk early in the fourth quarter, but the Pistons responded with an 11-0 run that put the game away.

Hamilton went off in the first quarter, and put away the Hornets in the process. A Marc Jackson fadeaway brought the Hornets to within 13-12 with just over six minutes left, but the Pistons closed the quarter on an 18-7 stretch. Hamilton scored 11 points on the run, giving him 17 in the first quarter which closed with the Pistons holding a 31-19 advantage.

A Bobby Jackson driving layup brought the Hornets to within 36-23 with just over nine minutes left, but the Pistons closed the half with a 22-9 stretch, taking a 58-32 halftime lead that the Hornets never threatened in the second half.

Hamilton only scored five points in the second half, but it was no matter as the Hornets could never get their offense on track.

The Hornets outscored the Pistons 24-13 in the third quarter, but still trailed 72-55 entering the final 12 minutes.

Detroit’s bench player’s made the most of their extended blowout time in the fourth quarter. Delfino scored nine of Detroit’s last 11 points, as the Pistons cruised to the 24-point win.

Game Notes

This was the Hornets’ lowest offensive output of the season...The Hornets shot only 33 percent from the field, and 28.6 percent (4-of-14) from behind the arc...Detroit made 18-of-23 free throws (78.3 percent), while the Hornets only attempted nine free throws in the game, sinking six of them (66.6 percent).