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Billups, Pistons spoil Redd's return

Feb 21, 2007 - 7:38 AM MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- The Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons spoiled Michael Redd's return to the hardwood.

Chauncey Billups scored 19 points to lead four players in double figures as the Pistons held on for an 84-83 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, who dropped their fourth straight game.

Rasheed Wallace collected 16 points and 11 rebounds and Antonio McDyess scored 15 off the bench for Detroit (33-19), which has won eight of its last nine games.

The triumph helped the Pistons improved to 16-9 on the road, becoming the lone club in the conference to have a winning record away from home this season.

A 6-6 guard with outstanding touch, Redd had missed the last 20 games due to a strained patellar tendon in his left knee sustained during a loss to Cleveland on January 5.

On Tuesday, Redd netted 17 points on 7-of-18 shots in 29 minutes. He also had four assists and two steals.

"I felt OK, just a little rusty," Redd said. "My legs were out of it. I didn't have any legs, really, and I wasn't myself but that's to be expected. I didn't play a lot of minutes, but it felt like a lot of minutes."

"He said (in the newspaper) he was going to be a decoy, but after five minutes he had five shots," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. "I thought, at that rate, he'd have 48 shots. That's a heck of a decoy. We weren't buying that."

Late the fourth quarter, Redd hit a pull-up jumper and Detroit's Tayshaun Prince was whistled for goaltending, tying the game at 81-81 with 1 1/2 minutes left.

Wallace scored on a turnaround jumper and Prince split a pair of free throws, giving Detroit an 84-81 advantage with 42 seconds remaining.

"We hit some shots and got a lot of rebounds (late in the fourth)," Wallace said. "The last five, six minutes, we got a lot of rebounds that we needed on some missed foul shots and missed shots. We pulled it out and hit shots when we needed to."

But Charlie Bell scored eight seconds later to make it a one-point contest. After Wallace's airball, the Bucks had a chance to win, but Mo Williams missed a layup on the final possession.

"We had a chance to win the game against a great team," Redd said. "We have to regroup and come back with the same effort. We played well against the best team in the East, but it's still a loss."

Bell scored 22 points and Ruben Patterson added 18 off the bench for Milwaukee, which shot 45 percent (33-of-72) from the field and fell to 1-2 against Detroit this season.

The Pistons led by 10 points after the first quarter and were able to push their advantage to 47-32 with 2 1/2 minutes to go before the Bucks ended the half on 9-0 run.

"We came out really clicking but let up in the second quarter and gave them some confidence and made it a game," Billups said. "It's always good to get a win, especially on the road."

"We've got to put our foot on their neck next game," Wallace said. "We had a lead and they chipped away at it. It was ugly, but I'll take it, though."