Hot Pistons drop Sonics

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Richard Hamilton caught a pass, missed a 3-pointer and was fouled – by a coach.

Hamilton was credited with the basket because Seattle coach Bob Hill interfered with him in what became a four-point possession, helping the Detroit Pistons pull away late in the fourth quarter of a 97-85 win over the SuperSonics on Friday night.

“I didn’t think he fouled me, but I’ll take it,” Hamilton said. “It was a major play.”

Chauncey Billups and Tayshaun Prince each scored 21 points and Hamilton had 15 for the Pistons, who have won 11 of 12 and have the NBA’s best record.

Seattle’s Rashard Lewis scored 27, Ray Allen had 22 points and Johan Petro added 10 in Hill’s second game as Sonics coach.

When Hamilton received a pass in front of Seattle’s bench, Hill had both feet on the court. Hill tried to get out of the way, but as Hamilton jumped to shoot a 3-pointer, the coach’s leg appeared to bump the player.

Official Bob Delaney ruled that the 3-pointer was good because Hill interfered with the shot, which drew an automatic technical foul. Hill tore off his jacket in protest and stomped on the sideline.

“At first, they said I touched him, and then they said I changed the shot,” Hill said. “I didn’t touch him. I might have been on the floor, but coaches do that. I asked if they were going to give them the ball, but they said we could keep it. That was nice of them.

“They certainly got some momentum from it. I’m afraid to say anything else, but I didn’t understand the call.”

During a timeout later in the game, a reporter asked Delaney if he had ever seen the call made before, and the veteran official said he had.

Billups made the technical free throw to give Detroit a four-point possession and an 87-76 lead with 4:19 left.

“That most definitely took us out of the game,” Lewis said.

Detroit is an NBA-best 26-4, a record that trails the league’s best 30-game mark by one game. Five teams started 27-3, including the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, who won a league-record 72 games.

“We’re just having fun,” said Ben Wallace, who had 13 points and 21 rebounds. “As long as we continue to have fun, good things will happen. If we start thinking about it, or worrying about history, we’ll lose focus.”

The Sonics played well for three quarters, trailing just 68-65, but the Pistons built a double-digit lead midway through the fourth and didn’t have trouble maintaining it.

The Pistons dominated the rebounding battle 54-41, and had 22 second-chance points off 20 offensive rebounds. Prince had a season-high 11 rebounds and Wallace matched his high for the season.

“Any time you force a team to play defense for 24 seconds, then you get a tip-in, it takes some of the air out of them,” Wallace said.

Hill, who replaced fired coach Bob Weiss on Tuesday, shouted for the Sonics to push the ball on offense and to get back on defense. They did for most of the game.

The Pistons led 26-21 after the first quarter and 45-44 at halftime following eight lead changes and six ties.

Seattle beat Chicago 101-97 in Hill’s debut Wednesday.

Pistons 97, SuperSonics 85

Percentages: FG .382, FT .706. 3-Point Goals: 5-18, .278 (Allen 4-7, Radmanovic 1-3, Murray 0-1, Ridnour 0-2, Lewis 0-5). Team Rebounds: 8. Team Turnovers: 6 (5 PTS). Blocked Shots: 1 (Collison). Turnovers: 5 (Lewis, R.Evans, Allen, Collison, Petro). Steals: 3 (R.Evans, Allen, Collison). Technical Fouls: .Bench, 4:19 fourth.

Percentages: FG .420, FT .679. 3-Point Goals: 4-17, .235 (R.Wallace 2-5, Billups 1-2, Hamilton 1-3, B.Wallace 0-1, Delfino 0-1, Arroyo 0-1, M.Evans 0-1, Prince 0-3). Team Rebounds: 17. Team Turnovers: 8 (4 PTS). Blocked Shots: 8 (R.Wallace 3, B.Wallace 2, Hamilton, Prince, McDyess). Turnovers: 8 (Billups 4, Hamilton 3, R.Wallace). Steals: 2 (Hamilton, Prince). Technical Fouls: None.

A—22,076 (22,076). T—2:14.