Ben Wallace scored only eight points last night, but chipped in 11 rebounds, two blocks, and two steals as the Pistons upended the Mavs.
(Photo by Allen Einstein/NBAE/Getty)


If the Detroit Pistons (56-14) and Dallas Mavericks (54-17) do meet in June's NBA Finals, Detroit's 97-90 victory Tuesday might play a crucial role in determining who gets the home-court advantage.

With the win, the Pistons split the season series with the Mavs and moved 2.5 games ahead of them for the league's best record.

"This is a very big win, but we won't know just how big for a while," said Chauncey Billups, who scored eight of his 31 points in the final three minutes. "It might be huge, or it might just end up as another victory."

The win avenged Detroit's worst loss of the season, a 119-82 rout in Dallas on Nov. 19. The Pistons trailed 40-16 after one quarter in that game, and Billups wanted to make sure there wasn't a repeat.

Rasheed Wallace added 21 points and 10 rebounds for Detroit, while Richard Hamilton scored 14 points. Dirk Nowitzki and former Piston Jerry Stackhouse each had 25 points.

ACC Dominance
Duke and UNC advanced to the Final Four on Tuesday night, joining Maryland and LSU. UNC beat Tennessee, while Duke knocked off UConn. Click here for the men's bracket.

Hoop-O: Gerald Wallace
He hit 17 of 22 shots and 18 of his career-high 41 points in the final quarter to set a team record for points in the Bobcats' win over the Hawks. Wallace earned 85 fantasy points.
Scott Gomez scored the only shootout goal and Martin Brodeur made 36 saves to give the New Jersey Devils an important 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators. The Devils are tied for sixth with three teams.
Milwaukee hit a team-record 18 treys and an NBA record of 11 in the third quarter, in a 132-110 win over Phoenix ... Ray Allen hit a shot with 0.3 seconds left to give Seattle a 98-97 win over Memphis despite a team-record 44 points by Pau Gasol ... Playing without their leading scorer, Gilbert Arenas (29.1 ppg.), Washington snapped an eight-game losing streak at Sacramento with a 97-84 win.

Chicago Cub aces Mark Prior and Kerry Wood were placed on the 15-day disabled list and will miss the start of the season. Prior who has not pitched this spring, has made 30 starts just once in three full seasons with the Cubs. He and Wood have been on the DL a combined 15 times ... On Tuesday, outfielder Marquis Grissom, 38, retired after a 17-season major league career.

COLLEGE HOOPS
George Mason vs Florida
Sat. Apr. 1, 6:07 p.m. CBS
LSU vs UCLA
Sat. Apr. 1, 8:47 p.m. CBS

NBA
Pistons at Sixers
Wed. Mar. 29, 8 p.m. ESPN
Jazz at Nuggets
Wed. Mar. 29, 10 p.m. ESPN2
Suns at Pacers
Thurs. Mar. 30, 8 p.m. TNT
Spurs at Lakers
Thurs. Mar. 30, 10:30 p.m. TNT

MLB
Indians at White Sox
Sun. Apr. 1, 8:05 p.m. ESPN

*All times Eastern

South Carolina
The Gamecocks beat Louisville, 78-63, and will try to become the second team to win consecutive NIT crowns when they face Michigan tomorrow.

Jeff Gordon
His $10,000 fine for shoving Matt Kenseth after their race at Bristol Motorspeedway was the first conduct fine of his 14-year career.
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