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Prince leads balanced attack as Pistons edge Pacers

Apr 4, 2007 - 1:37 AM INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Tayshaun Prince and the Detroit Pistons kept the Indiana Pacers on their downward spiral.

Prince scored 24 points to lead all five starters in double figures as the Pistons coasted to a 100-85 triumph over the reeling Pacers.

Richard Hamilton netted 19 points and Chris Webber chipped in 10 and 10 rebounds for Detroit (48-26), which pushed its lead atop the Eastern Conference to four games over Cleveland (44-30). The Cavaliers visit Minnesota later Tuesday.

Indiana (32-42) has just three wins in its last 21 games, falling two games behind eighth-place Orlando (34-40) for the final playoff spot in the East.

In the third quarter, Detroit used an impressive 19-8 surge to end the period capped by Chauncey Billups' 20-foot jumper as the buzzer sounded for a 78-64 bulge. Billups and Hamilton combined for 18 points in the period.

The Pistons shot 50 percent (13-of-26) from the floor and scored 11 points on second-chance opportunities in the third session. They also held a 16-6 edge in the points in the paint.

Detroit coasted in the fourth to improve to 35-4 when leading after three quarters this season.

Jermaine O'Neal had 20 points and seven boards and Mike Dunleavy scored 15 points for the Pacers, who shot 52 percent (36-of-69) and have lost eight of their last 13 meetings with the Pistons.