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  Wednesday, Mar. 29 7:30pm ET
Mason, Wesley key fourth straight win
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- The Charlotte Hornets could see the Detroit Pistons in the rearview mirror.

"This was definitely a big game, because Detroit's been playing well and they are right behind us," Hornets forward Anthony Mason said. "That's the competition that you want to come out on top of."

Anthony Mason
Anthony Mason who led Charlotte with 22 points, drives to the basket against the Pistons' Mikki Moore.

The Hornets did just that, beating Detroit 98-91 for their fourth straight victory.

Mason led the way with 22 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists as Detroit suffered just its second loss in its last six games.

The Hornets now lead the Pistons by three games in the race for the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

"This is an important win for us because it keeps Detroit behind us, and we don't lose any ground on Toronto and Philly," said David Wesley. "This was a good one to get."

The loss took some of the luster off Detroit's 4-1 West Coast trip.

"It's an old NBA cliche that the first game back from the Coast is really tough," said Pistons coach George Irvine. "But cliches get that way because there is some truth behind them. I knew there was a good chance that we wouldn't play very well tonight. We gave what we had, but the tank wasn't full."

Wesley added 18 points for Charlotte, while Elden Campbell had 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Grant Hill led Detroit with 26 points and Jerry Stackhouse added 19, but didn't even take a shot in the fourth quarter.

"Everyone has nights where they aren't hitting shots, but tonight it seemed to happen to all of us," said Lindsey Hunter, who went 2-for-12. "We played hard on defense, but we were just stagnant on offense."

Detroit led by as many as 13 points in the second quarter, but seven points from Mason in the period got the Hornets within 47-43 at the half. Stackhouse had 14 in the half, while Mason had 12.

"We just started playing our game," Campbell said. "They jumped out on us and we were chasing them down the court. But we stopped and started playing our game."

Charlotte took its first lead of the game, 60-57, midway through the third quarter with a 6-0 run. But John Crotty's 3-pointer and a driving layup by Grant Hill let the Pistons regain a 71-69 advantage by quarter's end.

Charlotte opened the fourth period with a 5-0 run, taking the lead 74-71 with 10:16 to go. After Hill's two free throws, the Hornets increased their edge to 79-73 with a three-point play by Todd Fuller and two foul shots by Eddie Jones.

Charlotte led by as many as seven, but Hill's three-point play finished a rally that brought Detroit within 84-83 with 5:44 to go. The Pistons got no closer as the Hornets scored the next four points from the line.

Derrick Coleman missed two free throws, but Jones grabbed the long rebound and Wesley hit a jumper to keep the Hornets' lead at 92-88.

Hill's short jumper with 45 seconds left got the Pistons within 94-91, but Campbell iced the game with a 10-footer.

Game notes
Detroit lost reserve guard Michael Curry to a sprained right ankle in the third quarter. He is expected to miss Friday's game against Phoenix. ... The Pistons' 4-1 West Coast trip was their best such trip since a 5-0 mark in March 1992. ... The Hornets have won 9 of 11 against Detroit, including four of the last six at the Palace.
 


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