TORONTO, 18 March 2005 — Chauncey Billups scored 32 points as the Detroit Pistons beat the Seattle SuperSonics 102-95 on Wednesday, their 10th successive victory at home.
Rasheed Wallace added 24 points and eight rebounds for the champion Pistons, who have won four of their last five games.
Seattle outscored Detroit 28-15 in the second quarter to take a five-point halftime lead, before Billups scored 17 points in the third quarter to put Detroit ahead.
Richard Hamilton and Wallace led a late fourth-quarter run to put the game out of reach. Hamilton added 18 points, as did Tayshaun Prince.
Rashard Lewis had 26 points while Ray Allen added 20 for Seattle, who have lost five of their last seven games.
In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Vince Carter scored 30 points for the Nets in their 100-84 victory over the Chicago Bulls.
Jason Kidd added 22 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for the Nets, who won all four games this year over Chicago and have beaten the Bulls seven successive times.
Andres Nocioni and Ben Gordon scored 15 points each for the Bulls.
In Boston, Antoine Walker and Paul Pierce scored 24 points each as the Celtics edged the Toronto Raptors 110-109.
Tony Allen added 16 points for the Celtics, who nearly blew a 16-point fourth quarter lead.
Jalen Rose led Toronto with a season-high 35 points.
In Indianapolis, Stephen Jackson scored 28 points as the Indiana Pacers beat the Utah Jazz 103-84.
Reggie Miller added 15 points for the Pacers (32-31), winners of four of their last five. Mehmet Okur led Utah with 16 points for the Jazz.
In Atlanta, Gilbert Arenas scored 29 points while Larry Hughes added 23 in the Washington Wizards’ 122-93 thrashing of the Hawks, who lost the 15th of their last 16 games.
In New Orleans, James Posey scored 20 points as the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Hornets 88-82. Bostjan Nachbar led New Orleans with 19 points.
In Milwaukee, Michael Redd scored 32 points while Joe Smith added 21 as the Bucks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 96-88.
LeBron James scored 34 points for the Cavs, who have lost eight successive road games.
In Houston, David Wesley and Bob Sura both scored 21 points as the Rockets beat the Portland Trail Blazers 108-77.
Tracy McGrady added 19 points and six assists. Shareff Abdur-Rahim scored 20 points for Portland.
In Denver, Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points in just 21 minutes as the Nuggets scored an easy 120-101 win over the Charlotte Bobcats.
Denver moved one game ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with the win.
In San Antonio, Tim Duncan scored 25 points as the Spurs beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 89-73.
Robert Horry added 18 points for the Spurs.
In Los Angeles, Corey Maggette scored 31 points in the Clippers’ 110-102 victory over the Orlando Magic.
