Pistons aim to flex Cavs from The Palace

Detroit, which posted its 11th consecutive home win Thursday against the Indiana Pacers, is fresh off a road victory versus the Chicago Bulls.

On Friday at the United Center, Chauncey Billups had 17 points and 12 assists to lead Detroit to a 95-87 victory. Antonio McDyess had 16 points and Maurice Evans added 15 for the Pistons, who have won their last four games overall.

Rip Hamilton had 14 points and Tayshaun Prince added 13 and seven rebounds in the win for Detroit, which has won four straight against Chicago. Also, the team has been victorious in 12 consecutive contests in the Windy City. The last time the Pistons lost in Chicago was on January 22, 2000.

The top-seeded Pistons command the Eastern Conference and own an eye-popping 25-2 record as the host. Detroit also has a comfortable lead over the Cavs in the Central Division.

Cleveland, meanwhile, has dropped two in a row, including Friday night’s 102-94 home loss to the Washington Wizards.

LeBron James had 25 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, but hurt his squad with no baskets in the second half. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 23 points, nine rebounds and five blocks for the Cavs, losers of two straight.

The Cavaliers, currently seeded fourth in the Eastern Conference, are just 2-3 in their last five road games. They are 12-15 away from Quicken Loans Arena this season.

Cleveland has won two of three and five of the last eight meetings between these two Eastern-Conference powerhouses. The Cavs won the first meeting of the season at home by a 97-84 score on December 31, but have dropped two straight and 11 of 13 in the Motor City.

During the win over the Pistons, James had a game-high 30 points and is averaging 22.9 points in nine career appearances against them.

Detroit will then travel to Cleveland for another showdown Monday night at Quicken Loans Arena.