Pistons Beat Pacers for Seventh Straight

[December 29, 2007]  AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- Richard Hamilton had 23 points and nine assists, and the Detroit Pistons beat the Indiana Pacers 114-101 on Friday night for their seventh straight victory.

The Pistons have won 14 of 16 since an 8-5 start to the season. Indiana has lost three of four. The teams play again Saturday night in Indiana.

Tayshaun Prince added 15 points for Detroit, while Chauncey Billups scored 14.

Jermaine O'Neal led the Pacers with 25 and Troy Murphy scored 12, but no other Indiana starter reached double figures.

Jarvis Hayes scored 10 points in the first five minutes of the second period, helping Detroit build a 45-25 lead. The Pistons put up a season-high 40 points in the period, including 13 from Hayes, and had a comfortable 64-41 advantage at the intermission. Billups and Hamilton combined for 22 in the half.

O'Neal, playing on a sore knee, had 12 points in the third quarter, but it was only enough to keep Indiana from being routed. Hamilton's 13 points in the period made it 93-70 going into the fourth, and the Pacers never threatened in a sloppy final period.

Notes:@ Jamaal Tinsley, who had been a game-time decision with a sore hamstring, did not play in the second half. ... Indiana coach Jim O'Brien picked up a technical for arguing an offensive foul on Marquis Daniels early in the second quarter. When O'Brien continued to argue, official Bill Spooner yelled, "Know the rule, Jim!" ... Walter Herrmann, acquired from Charlotte in the Nazr Mohammed trade on Dec. 14, made his Pistons debut in the fourth quarter. ... O'Neal, one of the central figures in the Pacers' brawl with Palace fans in 2004, was loudly booed during pre-game introductions.

[Associated Press]

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