Ten in a row for Detroit
ByReuters
Published 03/01/2008 at 08:09 GMT
The Detroit Pistons turned in another dominant performance with a 106-93 win over the Washington Wizards - their tenth victory in a row.
BASKETBALL Detroit Pistons Rasheed Wallace is defended by Milwaukee Bucks Yi Jianlian during the first quarter at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Michigan USA on 31 December 2007.
Image credit: Allsport
Detroit (25-7) held a comfortable lead for the entire second half and had seven players in double figures to extend their longest winning streak since an 11-game run two years ago.
"Whenever you get in a situation like we're in now, it's because you take it one game at a time," Detroit coach Flip Saunders said.
"We've been here before. We've been on some runs, so it's not like they are uncommon."
The Pistons, who have an average recent victory margin of 16.8 points, were never threatened by the Wizards (15-15), who have not beaten a team with a winning record in over a month.
"The first quarter I thought went pretty well and we didn't do much after that," Washington coach Eddie Jordan said.
"There was probably one skirmish there where we played pretty well, got the lead down, but it was disappointing how we responded to one of the best teams in the league."
Detroit used a late 10-0 surge to take a 57-47 lead at the half and did not allow the Wizards to get any closer, shooting 49 per cent from the field and making 11 of 22 three-point attempts.
Richard Hamilton led the Pistons in scoring for the sixth straight game with 20 points, moving him up to tenth place on the franchise scoring list. He also had nine assists and seven rebounds.
Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace added 16 points each for Detroit, and Jason Maxiell contributed 15 points off the bench.
Caron Butler had 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Wizards, while Antawn Jamison had 21.
The Boston Celtics beat the Houston Rockets 97-93, winning their seventh straight game and improving to 27-3. Boston matched the NBA's best record in the shot clock era after 30 games.
The Dallas Mavericks beat the Golden State Warriors for the second time this season as Dirk Nowitzki had 29 points, eight rebounds and six assists in a 121-99 win. Golden State stunned Dallas in last year's playoffs.
LeBron James scored 36 points, 32 in the second half, as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Atlanta Hawks 98-94.
The Milwaukee Bucks snapped a four-game losing streak with a 103-98 win over the Miami Heat.
The New Jersey Nets snapped the Orlando Magic's four-game winning streak, rallying for a 96-95 win.
The Chicago Bulls won for the third time in four games under interim coach Jim Boylan, downing the Charlotte Bobcats 109-97.
The New York Knicks lost their fifth straight game, going down 107-97 to the Sacramento Kings for whom John Salmons scored a career-high 32 points.
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