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 Hamilton hit all five of his shots and the Pistons connected on 14 of 18 from the field in turning a one-point halftime lead into a 14-point margin entering the final quarter.
Chauncey Billups added 17 points and 10 assists and Antonio McDyess had 15 points and nine rebounds for Detroit, which has won 13 of 15. Rasheed Wallace added 13 points for the Pistons, who were 24-of-37 from the field in the second half.
It marked the seventh straight game the Pistons have held their opponent under 90 points.
Vince Carter led the Nets with 21 points, but only six came in the second half when New Jersey was limited to 39 points on 12-of-32 shooting. Jason Kidd had a game-high 13 assists but missed all eight of his shots from the field. Richard Jefferson added 18 points.
The Pistons, who hit their first six shots to open the game, came out even hotter in the second half, making their first seven.
Unlike the first half when they struggled after the fast start, the Pistons just kept pouring it on in the third quarter.
After the teams exchanged two baskets at the start of the half, Billups hit a layup to ignite an 11-0 run that featured three baskets by Wallace, the last a rim-hanging dunk on a fast break.
Hamilton, who also had a basket in the run, added three sweet jumpers and a layup in pushing the lead to as many as 16 points in the quarter.
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New Jersey never got closer than 14 points the rest of the way.
The Pistons, who shot nearly 65 percent in the second half, struggled after their flurry to open the game. However, their defense was the key to getting back into the game just before halftime.
Down 42-36, Billups hit two of three free throws to spark a 9-2 run in the closing minutes of the first half. Hamilton added a jumper, Jason Maxiell had a free throw and McDyess added two more after getting the rebound of Maxiell's second miss.
A driving layup by Billups with 4.5 seconds left in the half gave Detroit the lead for good.
Notes: Kidd has 8,972 career assists, moving into sixth place on the NBA's all-time leaderboard ahead of longtime friend Gary Payton (8,966). ... The best shooting quarter this season in the NBA was Milwaukee's 10-of-11 third quarter (90.9 percent) against Detroit on Dec. 1. ... The Nets had 17 turnovers, seven by Jefferson. ... Detroit beat New Jersey 118-95 on Dec. 2. ... The Pistons are 13-2 against the Eastern Conference. ... New Jersey is 6-11 at home.
[Associated Press; By TOM CANAVAN]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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