Pistons whip host Phoenix

Detroit saves its best for the big ones, so the Pistons were more than ready for Shaquille O’Neal.

Rasheed Wallace scored 22 points in 26 minutes to lead six Detroit players in double figures, and the Pistons embarrassed O’Neal and the host Phoenix Suns 116-86 Sunday.

Richard Hamilton had 18 points, Chauncey Billups 14 points and 11 assists, and Antonio McDyess 12 points and 13 rebounds. Jarvis Hayes added a season-high 18 as Detroit easily ended the Suns’ 11-game winning streak against Eastern Conference foes with a nationally televised blowout.

Phoenix lost to a team from the East for only the third time in 25 games this season.

The Pistons, opening a four-game road trip, built an 18-point halftime lead, then blew open a 36-point advantage in the third quarter, the Suns’ biggest deficit of the season.

Their most one-sided loss of the season left the Suns 1-2 since O’Neal started playing for Phoenix on Wednesday.

O’Neal, who turns 36 in two weeks, had seven points and 11 rebounds in 34 minutes and was 1 for 8 from the foul line.

“We still have to be realistic about things,” he said. “I’ve only been here about eight days. This is only my third game with the guys, so we still have a lot of figuring out to do … we should be fine.”

Cavaliers 109, Grizzlies 89: LeBron James and his new teammates didn’t need any time getting acquainted.

James scored 25 points and had 11 assists while all four players acquired in Thursday’s blockbuster trade contributed, leading host Cleveland past Memphis.

As debuts go, these new-look Cavaliers were a smashing success. Cleveland built a 28-point lead midway through the second quarter and coasted to victory.

Ben Wallace, who started at power forward, scored 12 points, tying his season high, and had 10 rebounds, while Delonte West, the starter at point guard, scored five points with six assists.

The other two players picked up in the deal, forward Joe Smith and guard Wally Szczerbiak, came off the bench late in the first quarter. Smith scored 14 points and Szczerbiak had 10.

Wallace and Smith were acquired from Chicago; West and Szczerbiak were picked up from Seattle in the three-team, 11-player deal that was finalized minutes before the deadline.

Celtics 112, Trail Blazers 102: Paul Pierce scored 30 points and Boston beat Portland in Portland to snap a three-game losing streak.

The Celtics trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half, but gained control in the second when the Blazers struggled without guard Brandon Roy.

Roy, an All-Star reserve and last season’s Rookie of the Year, left for the locker room in the third quarter when he aggravated a right ankle sprain.

Magic 112, Kings 93: Dwight Howard had 26 points and 10 rebounds in Orlando’s win over Sacramento in Orlando, Fla.

Ron Artest led the Kings with 23 points – seven in the fourth quarter. Brad Miller added 17.

Raptors 115, Knicks 92: Andrea Bargnani had 25 points and Chris Bosh added 17 as host Toronto beat New York.

Anthony Parker added 16 points and T.J. Ford came off the bench to score 15 as Toronto gave coach Sam Mitchell a victory in his 300th game. Mitchell is 137-163 as Toronto’s coach.

Rockets 110, Bulls 97: Tracy McGrady had 24 points and eight assists and host Houston extended its winning streak to 12 games with a win over Chicago.

The Rockets’ current streak is their longest since their championship season of 1993-94. It is also the longest active streak in the NBA.

Mavericks 99, Timberwolves 83: Jason Kidd tied his season high with 17 assists in his third game with Dallas and Dirk Nowitzki scored 29 points to lead the Mavericks past Minnesota in Minneapolis.