Hot Pistons roll to 11th consecutive win

"We're definitely satisfied with how we're playing now," said Pistons guard Chauncey Billups, who chipped in with 16 points and nine assists. "Eleven straight games, that's an amazing feat in this league, with a lot of great players and a lot of great teams."

   The Pistons (26-7) who haven't lost since bowing to Houston on December 12, are two victories shy of matching the best streak in franchise history.

 But their winning streak should face a big test on Saturday night when they host an Eastern Conference heavyweight showdown against the league-best Boston Celtics (28-3), who own an eight-game winning streak.

 "It's just another game that we want to get in front of our home crowd," said Hamilton, whose club won the first meeting on the road last month.

 Jason Maxiell had 11 points while fellow-reserves Rodney Stuckey and Jarvis Hayes added eight apiece as the Pistons' bench outscored the Raptors' substitutes 27-5.

 "We come in and provide energy for our starters to give them a rest," Stucky said. "That's what we did tonight."

   Italy's Andrea Bargnani led Toronto (17-16) with 25 points but went scoreless in the final frame. Chris Bosh had 23 points and 16 rebounds while Spain's Jose Calderon finished with 15 points and nine assists.

 Elsewhere:    Boston Celtics 100, Memphis Grizzlies 96    Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett scored 23 points apiece while Tony Allen added a season-high 20 for the league-best Celtics. Rudy Gay led visiting Memphis (9-23) with 21 points and Spain's Juan Carlos Navarro had 20.

 Houston Rockets 96, Orlando Magic 94    Yao Ming scored 26 points, Rafer Alston had 20, including the game-winning layup with four seconds remaining as the Rockets escaped with the road win courtesy of instant replay. Adonal Foyle's tip-in at the buzzer appeared to send the game into overtime. However, referees reviewed the replay on the courtside monitor and ruled he didn't get the shot off in time.

 New Jersey Nets 102, Charlotte Bobcats 96    Vince Carter scored 30 points, Richard Jefferson had 28 and the Nets sent the Bobcats to their 11th consecutive road loss. Jason Richardson scored 33 points for the Bobcats (11-20), who dropped to 1-11 away from home.

 Cleveland Cavaliers 97, Sacramento Kings 93    Daniel Gibson scored 10 of his 13 points in the final frame, including a game-sealing three-pointer with 11 seconds left, helping the Cavaliers edge the short-handed Kings. LeBron James led Cleveland (16-17) with 24 points, eight rebounds, 10 assists and five steals. John Salmons scored 22 points for the Kings (12-19) who were without injured starters Ron Artest, Mike Bibby and Kevin Martin.

 Indiana Pacers 113, Atlanta Hawks 91    Danny Granger matched a career high with 32 points, helping the Pacers snap a five-game skid.

 Washington Wizards 101, Milwaukee Bucks 77    Antawn Jamison scored 24 points as the visiting Wizards took advantage of the absence of Bucks' top scorer Michael Redd (left thigh bruise) to dominate the hosts.

 Denver Nuggets 118, Minnesota Timberwolves 107    Allen Iverson scored 33 points, Carmelo Anthony had 26 and the visiting Nuggets handed the league-worst Timberwolves their seventh straight loss. Rashard McCants led Minnesota (4-28) with a career- high 34 points while Al Jefferson had 24 points and 15 rebounds.

 San Antonio Spurs 97, New York Knicks 93    Bruce Bowen scored 15 points and Michael Finley had 14, including a key three-pointer with 1:43 left, as the Spurs handed the visiting Knicks their sixth straight defeat. Eddy Curry scored 25 points and Jamal Crawford had 24 for the Knicks (8-23) who fell to 1-12 on the road without suspended Zach Randolph.

 Dallas Mavericks 94, Miami Heat 89    Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points and Josh Howard had 11 of his 18 in the final frame, helping the Mavericks hand the Heat its sixth straight loss.

 Without injured Shaquille O'Neal and fellow All-Star Dwyane Wade , the visiting Heat trailed 90-89 when Ricky Davis ( 23 points) missed a layup with nine seconds left after getting hit in the head by Howard.

 No call was made and Howard hit two free throws to make it 92-89. The Heat had a chance for a game-tying three-pointer, but Devin Harris stole an inbound pass and found Howard for a breakaway dunk.

 LA Lakers 124, Philadelphia 76ers 93    Rookie Javaris Crittenton scored a career-high 19 points while Andrew Bynum had 17 points and 16 rebounds as the host Lakers rolled to their fifth win in the last six games.

 New Orleans 116, Golden State Warriors 104    Tyson Chandler scored a season-high 22 points and matched a season best with 22 rebounds, leading the Hornets to their fifth straight road win. Chris Paul had 11 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and handed out 13 assists as New Orleans (22-11) won for the seventh time in the last eight games. Baron Davis led the Warriors (19-15) with 26 points and Al Harrington had 24.

By Paul Levine, dpa