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 Wallace said the Pistons had to take advantage of the undersized Mavericks by going inside, and he did.
The bombastic center scored over Dirk Nowitzki on a fadeaway late in the third quarter as Detroit pulled away, and Wallace had a some more words for the Mavericks.
"He can't guard me!" Wallace screamed toward Dallas' bench.
The Mavericks had a rough day at the other end of the court, too, with their lowest scoring game and worst shooting performance at 30 percent. Their previous lows were 76 points on Dec. 12 at Toronto and 35 percent on Nov. 10 at Portland.
Dallas missed 16 straight shots -- spanning 8 1/2 minutes in the first and second quarters
-- leading to scoring a season-low 38 points and shooting a season-worst 29 percent in the first half.
But the Mavericks trailed by just six at halftime.
Detroit pulled away in the third quarter, building a 15-point lead, as it held Dallas to 13 points
-- matching its lowest-scoring quarter of the season.
Nowitzki had 15 points on 3-of-18 shooting and 10 rebounds, Josh Howard scored 16 and reserve Brandon Bass added 14.
The Mavericks struggled in part because they're missing two standouts, starting point guard Devin Harris (left ankle) and key reserve Jerry Stackhouse (right hamstring).
Tayshaun Prince scored 16 and Richard Hamilton scored all 10 of his points in the second half for the Pistons, who got solid contributions off the bench for the second straight game. Rookie Rodney Stuckey scored 11 and Jarvis Hayes had 10.
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The Pistons have won five straight.
The Mavericks, who missed a chance to pull into a first-place tie with New Orleans in the Southwest Division, have lost two in a row after winning 12 of 14.
Despite Dallas' awful start, Detroit led just 20-14 after the first quarter and 44-38 at halftime.
While Wallace scored seven and Nowitzki was scoreless in the third, the Pistons took control by outscoring the Mavericks 22-13 in quarter.
Detroit's reserves didn't let up in the final quarter as the Pistons outscored Dallas 24-16.
Notes: Stackhouse (right hamstring) is expected to return next week after showing progress in recent workouts and the Mavs hope Harris can soon remove the boot protecting his bruised left ankle. ... A trailer carrying pyrotechnics to be set off before the game was stolen from a facility away from The Palace. The show still went on with backup equipment, throwing flames into the air during the pregame production. ... Detroit improved to 17-4 at home and Dallas fell to 11-12 on the road. ... Dallas reserve Maurice Ager, a Detroit native and former Michigan State star, said he had to come up with about 25 tickets for family and friends. ... The Mavericks were just 2-of-14 on 3-pointers.
[Associated Press; By LARRY LAGE]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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redistributed.
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