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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- The Charlotte Hornets could see the
Detroit Pistons in the rearview mirror.
"This was definitely a big game, because Detroit's been playing
well and they are right behind us," Hornets forward Anthony Mason
said. "That's the competition that you want to come out on top
of."
|  | | Anthony Mason who led Charlotte with 22 points, drives to the basket against the Pistons' Mikki Moore. |
The Hornets did just that, beating Detroit 98-91 for their
fourth straight victory.
Mason led the way with 22 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists
as Detroit suffered just its second loss in its last six games.
The Hornets now lead the Pistons by three games in the race for
the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
"This is an important win for us because it keeps Detroit
behind us, and we don't lose any ground on Toronto and Philly,"
said David Wesley. "This was a good one to get."
The loss took some of the luster off Detroit's 4-1 West Coast
trip.
"It's an old NBA cliche that the first game back from the Coast
is really tough," said Pistons coach George Irvine. "But cliches
get that way because there is some truth behind them. I knew there
was a good chance that we wouldn't play very well tonight. We gave
what we had, but the tank wasn't full."
Wesley added 18 points for Charlotte, while Elden Campbell had
16 points and 13 rebounds.
Grant Hill led Detroit with 26 points and Jerry Stackhouse added
19, but didn't even take a shot in the fourth quarter.
"Everyone has nights where they aren't hitting shots, but
tonight it seemed to happen to all of us," said Lindsey Hunter,
who went 2-for-12. "We played hard on defense, but we were just
stagnant on offense."
Detroit led by as many as 13 points in the second quarter, but
seven points from Mason in the period got the Hornets within 47-43
at the half. Stackhouse had 14 in the half, while Mason had 12.
"We just started playing our game," Campbell said. "They
jumped out on us and we were chasing them down the court. But we
stopped and started playing our game."
Charlotte took its first lead of the game, 60-57, midway through
the third quarter with a 6-0 run. But John Crotty's 3-pointer and a
driving layup by Grant Hill let the Pistons regain a 71-69
advantage by quarter's end.
Charlotte opened the fourth period with a 5-0 run, taking the
lead 74-71 with 10:16 to go. After Hill's two free throws, the
Hornets increased their edge to 79-73 with a three-point play by
Todd Fuller and two foul shots by Eddie Jones.
Charlotte led by as many as seven, but Hill's three-point play
finished a rally that brought Detroit within 84-83 with 5:44 to go.
The Pistons got no closer as the Hornets scored the next four
points from the line.
Derrick Coleman missed two free throws, but Jones grabbed the
long rebound and Wesley hit a jumper to keep the Hornets'
lead at 92-88.
Hill's short jumper with 45 seconds left got the Pistons within
94-91, but Campbell iced the game with a 10-footer.
Game notes
Detroit lost reserve guard Michael Curry to a sprained
right ankle in the third quarter. He is expected to miss Friday's
game against Phoenix. ... The Pistons' 4-1 West Coast trip was their
best such trip since a 5-0 mark in March 1992. ...
The Hornets have won 9 of 11 against Detroit, including four of the
last six at the Palace.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Charlotte Clubhouse
Detroit Clubhouse
RECAPS
Denver 101
Washington 93
Charlotte 98
Detroit 91
Cleveland 86
Chicago 81
Utah 98
Philadelphia 84
New York 110
Seattle 95
LA Lakers 108
Vancouver 99
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