Richard Hamilton scored a season-high 40 points to lead the Detroit Pistons past former coach Larry Brown and the New York Knicks 106-98 Friday.
Brown returned to an NBA city he used to call home for the seventh time, but acknowledged this reunion was different. The Hall of Fame coach was fired in July, after insisting publicly he wanted to return. He filled the only void on his resume during a two-year stint in Detroit with his first NBA title in 2004 and came just short of repeating last season.
After the score was tied at halftime, the Pistons outscored New York 24-8 to take an 83-67 lead into the fourth quarter. New York didn't pose much of a comeback threat after that.
PHOTO: AP
The Pistons improved to an NBA-best 12-2 and the Knicks fell to 5-10.
Detroit's Tayshaun Prince had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Ben Wallace added 15 points and 11 rebounds and Chauncey Billups had 11 points and 11 assists, tying a season high.
Raptors 102, Hawks 101
At Atlanta, Georgia rookie Charlie Villanueva scored 22 points, including the go-ahead basket with 2.5 seconds left, as Toronto ended a six-game losing streak with a win over Atlanta in the matchup of the two worst records in the league.
Toronto, winning on the road for the first time this season, won for only the second time in 17 games.
Chris Bosh led Toronto with 23 points. Villanueva added 10 rebounds.
The Raptors led most of the game, but there were three ties in the final 3 minutes.
Joe Johnson set a career-high with 34 points, but it wasn't enough to keep Atlanta (2-13) from its fourth straight loss.
Bucks 105, Wizards 102
At Washington, Maurice Williams scored 14 of his career-high 35 points in the fourth quarter, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer, to lead Milwaukee over Washington.
Washington's Caron Butler matched his season-high with 27 points and made two free throws with 1:05 left that tied the game at 100-all.
Williams responded with a tough runner off the glass that gave the Bucks a 102-100 lead with 49 seconds remaining.
Gilbert Arenas, who led the Wizards with 34 points, tied it at 102 with a layup with 43 seconds left. Bucks center Jamaal Magloire missed a hook shot 10 seconds later, but teammate T.J. Ford drew a charge on Arenas with 13 seconds left, setting up Williams' game-winner.
Bulls 106, Celtics 102
At Boston, Luol Deng scored 10 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and Ben Gordon added 20 points, including a thunderous go-ahead dunk with just over three minutes remaining, to lead Chicago over Boston.
Andres Nocioni scored 16 points for the Bulls, who have won five of six. Chris Duhon added 11 points, including four critical free throws in the final seconds, and finished with seven assists.
Paul Pierce had 43 points, 11 rebounds and five assists for the Celtics. Ricky Davis scored 12 points on 3-for-11 shooting.
Hornets 88, 76ers 86
At Oklahoma City, David West scored 22 points, including a tiebreaking layup with 50.4 seconds left, to lift New Orleans over Philadelphia.
After a missed jumper by Speedy Claxton caromed off the rim and backboard, West grabbed the ball and put it back to give New Orleans an 88-86 lead.
Claxton drew a charging foul against Chris Webber on Philadelphia's next possession, but Desmond Mason's miss gave the Sixers one last chance. Andre Iguodala grabbed the rebound and passed to Allen Iverson, who rushed up the court and missed a 3-pointer from the left wing as the buzzer sounded.
Grizzlies 91, Magic 69
At Memphis, Tennessee, Mike Miller scored 25 points in his first game back from a concussion and led Memphis over Orlando for its fourth straight win.
Miller made 8 of 13 shots, including 4-of-8 from beyond the arc, helping Memphis put the Magic away early. He missed two games after colliding with Houston's Ryan Bowen on Nov. 25, leaving him also with a cut to his forehead.
Suns 102, Nuggets 97
At Phoenix, reserve Eddie House sparked a fourth-quarter Phoenix rally with nine straight points and the Suns beat Denver to win their fifth consecutive game.
Shawn Marion led the balanced Suns offense with 22 points and 11 rebounds, Steve Nash added 21 points and 10 assists, Kurt Thomas had 16 points and 16 rebounds, and Boris Diaw scored 15.
Marcus Camby led the Nuggets, who lost their third straight, with a season-high 33 points and 20 rebounds. Carmelo Anthony scored 22 before leaving the game in the fourth quarter after aggravating his left ankle. Andre Miller scored 18 points and had 10 assists.
Heat 98, Kings 87
At Sacramento, California, Dwyane Wade had 27 points and seven assists, Alonzo Mourning blocked seven shots, and Miami won its fourth straight over Sacramento.
Jason Williams scored 16 of his 20 points in the first half for the Heat, who made just enough defensive stops down the stretch to hang on for their third straight win despite 20 turnovers and 3-of-14 shooting in the fourth quarter.
Pacers 98, Trail Blazers 78
At Portland, Oregon, Jermaine O'Neal scored 27 points and had 15 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season and Indiana beat Portland.
The Pacers were playing on the road for the fourth time in six days, but they had no trouble with the struggling Blazers, who have lost seven of nine.
Indiana trailed 22-18 to start the second quarter, but went on a 16-2 run to take a 34-24 lead on O'Neal's 5.5m jumper.
The Pacers went on to lead by as many as 28 points en route to their sixth win in eight games. It was O'Neal's first victory in Portland since he was traded from the Blazers to Indiana in 2000.
Sarunas Jasikevicius had 14 points, and Ron Artest added 12 and five rebounds for Indiana.
SuperSonics 115, Cavaliers 108
At Seattle, Rashard Lewis scored 26 points and Seattle overcame a 34-point performance by LeBron James and Cleveland.
Lewis had his fifth straight game of at least 20 points, and Seattle won its second straight after dropping three in a row.
Larry Hughes scored 21 points for Cleveland and reserve Damon Jones hit five 3-pointers and added 16 points as the Cavaliers dropped the opener of a three-game West Coast road trip.
Ronald Murray added a season-best 24 in a reserve role for Seattle.
James, who had his ninth game of 30 or more points this season, shot 13-for-27 and finished with eight assists.
Timberwolves 113, Lakers 108
At Los Angeles, Wally Szczerbiak scored 34 points, Kevin Garnett added 29, and Northwest Division-leading Minnesota rallied to beat Los Angeles.
Troy Hudson's shooting brought the Wolves back in the second half and he finished with 18.
Lamar Odom led five Lakers in double figures with 24 points. Smush Parker added 22, Kobe Bryant 20, Brian Cook 19 and Luke Walton 10.
The Lakers, last in the Pacific Division, led much of the way until the Wolves outscored them 28-16 to end the game.
Warriors 107, Bobcats 100
At Oakland, California, Baron Davis had 21 points and 14 assists to lead Golden State over Charlotte for its fifth straight victory.
Jason Richardson added 22 points, including a rim-jarring jam in the final seconds, as the Warriors moved into sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division for the first time since March 2, 1992.
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