March 9th, 2009 
Stephen Rhodes 
Posted in 
Despite being undermanned in their game against the Orlando Magic on Friday night - Allen Iverson is out due to injury and Rasheed Wallace left the game with an injury in the first quarter – the Detroit Pistons made a good showing for themselves as Richard Hamilton picked up the slack. Hamilton scored 29 as both teams traded the lead 15 times, with Detroit edging Orlando 98-94 at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Neither team shot well in the first half as Orlando held a slim 3-point lead going into halftime; Detroit would hold a 73-71 lead going into the fourth quarter and consecutive baskets by Walter Herrmann would give them a 79-73 lead with 10 minutes remaining in the game, but the Magic would rally.
Four minutes later, a 3-pointer by Rashard Lewis gave Orlando an 85-83 lead, but the Pistons’ Antonio McDyess pulled down 3 key boards to keep them in the game. A jumper by Rodney Stuckey put Detroit up by one with 2 minutes left to go, and Dwight Howard missed a pair of free throws before a jumper by Hamilton gave the Pistons a 3-point lead. Hamilton would soon seal the game for the Pistons with another jumper.
Detroit’s high scorer was Hamilton with 29 points, 3 rebounds, 14 assists and a steal while Tayshaun Prince added 20 with 6 rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block; McDyess nabbed a double-double as he scored 13 with 18 rebounds.
Orlando was led by Howard with 27 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 blocks while Lewis added 21 (including three 3-pointers) with 6 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal but committed 5 turnovers. Detroit (32-30) plays again on Wednesday when they host the New York Knicks while Orlando (46-17) returns home to host the Chicago Bulls – also on Wednesday night.
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