The Pistons let the Hornet crawl back within one point last night, but a flurry of three-pointers on four consecutive possessions resulted in a 12-0 run to put the game officially out of reach. Rasheed Wallace nailed the last trey -- just his second in nine attempts -- before telling the world the game was effectively over:
"Wrap," said Wallace, as he ran back down the floor. "Start the bus."
Ben Wallace led all players with a dozen rebounds, but he somehow managed to score just one point. He attempted just two from the field and shot 1-4 from the charity stripe. Tayshaun Prince has been struggling with his shot lately, but he nailed 5-of-9 attempts -- including both of his attempts from three-point land -- to finish with 12 points, six boards and six assists. Rip Hamilton led the team with 30 points, with Chauncey Billups chipping in 18 and six assists.
Carlos Arroyo nailed his first two three-point attempts of the season but his night ended early after he picked up his sixth foul in the fourth quarter. He was obviously unhappy about fouling out in only 15 minutes as he made the bone-headed decision to bump the ref while arguing the call. Expect a league fine and suspension to be announced within the next couple of days.
Carlos Delfino saw but a minute of action, which was a disappointment considering Flip Saunders was implementing his new substitution patterns. Delfino should see more action in the future, but it just so happened this was a game in which both Tayshaun and Rip played at least 42 minutes. Maurice Evans saw 11 minutes, scoring four points, grabbing a rebound and snagging three steals.
Pistons 96, Hornets 86 box score [ESPN]
Poise earns Pistons victory [Detroit News]