Pistons win rematch

The Detroit Pistons showed the Miami Heat that their many moves might not make a difference.

Chauncey Billups scored 30 and Richard Hamilton had 25 points and a season-high nine assists Thursday night at Auburn Hills, Mich., leading Detroit past the Heat 106-101 in a rematch of the last season’s Eastern Conference finals.

In their first matchup since the Pistons won at Miami in Game 7 of the series, Detroit used clutch shots and key defensive plays in the final minutes to pull away in the close game.

Dwyane Wade had 33 points, Shaquille O’Neal scored 26 and Jason Williams chipped in with 20 points for the Heat, who had won seven of nine games.

Miami added players through free agency and trades in the off-season, and Pat Riley replaced Stan Van Gundy as coach earlier this month.

The Pistons have had the same starting five for nearly two years, a span that includes one NBA title and falling just short of a repeat.

Spurs 111, Hornets 84: At San Antonio, Michael Finley scored 18 points – including making all four of his 3-point shots – and San Antonio shut down New Orleans’ offense after the opening minutes.

The Spurs, who lost to New Orleans earlier this month in Oklahoma City, were 11 for 15 on 3s. Their lead grew to as many as 32 points in the fourth quarter before both teams emptied their benches.

Around the league

Marcus Camby, the NBA’s leading rebounder, underwent surgery on his right broken pinkie, the latest in a long list of injuries that have hampered the Denver Nuggets.

He’ll be out at least one to two weeks.

“The Houston Rockets signed guard John Lucas III and forward Josh Davis and waived swingman Stephen Graham.

“Milwaukee guard T.J. Ford (sprained left foot) is expected to miss two to three weeks.

“Yao Ming and Kobe Bryant led the Western Conference while Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James topped the Eastern Conference after two rounds of voting for the 2006 NBA All-Star Game.

Yao paced all players with 1,319,868 votes for the game in Houston on Feb. 19.