AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Antonio McDyess scored 19 points, Rasheed Wallace added 17 points and eight rebounds, and the Detroit Pistons beat the New Jersey Nets 106-87 on Friday night for their fourth straight victory.
Both teams played without a key starter. Richard Hamilton (hip) sat out for Detroit, while Vince Carter (ankle) was sidelined for the Nets. Wallace and Chauncey Billups did return for Detroit after being rested for Tuesday's win in Minnesota.
The victory moved Detroit to the verge of clinching the second seed in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons will lock up the No. 2 spot with one win or an Orlando loss.
New Jersey trails Atlanta by four games with six games left in the race for the East's last playoff spot.
Rookie Rodney Stuckey added 14 points and a career-best nine assists for Detroit, which had six players in double figures.
Richard Jefferson led the Nets with 15 points.
Even without Hamilton, the Pistons took control early, taking a 16-6 lead in the first six minutes. Full story
Pacers 105, Bucks 101
MILWAUKEE -- Mike Dunleavy had 27 points and 11 rebounds and the Indiana Pacers kept their faint playoff hopes alive by edging the Milwaukee Bucks.
Indiana pulled within three games of Atlanta for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with the victory. The Hawks lost 109-104 to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Troy Murphy scored 17 points and Danny Granger added 13 for Indiana, which has missed the playoffs the last two seasons. Jermaine O'Neal had 11 points and six turnovers in his third game back after missing 33 with a sore left knee.
The Pacers have six games remaining, including matchups with the Bucks on Sunday and the Hawks on Tuesday night.
Michael Redd scored 28 points for Milwaukee, and Andrew Bogut added 21 points and 16 rebounds.
Suns 117, Timberwolves 88
PHOENIX -- Steve Nash had 14 points and 11 assists, then sat out the final quarter while the Phoenix Suns completed a rout of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Amare Stoudemire had 24 points in 28 minutes as five Suns reached double figures. Grant Hill, out for the previous three games with a strained right groin, had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Nash shot 5-of-6, including 3-of-3 on 3-pointers and passed Muggsy Bogues for 15th on the NBA career assist list. Nash, who began the season ranked 29th, has 6,732 to Bogues' 6,726.
Raja Bell added 15 points and Leandro Barbosa 11 for the Suns.
Rockets 79, SuperSonics 66
SEATTLE -- For the second straight night, Tracy McGrady carried the Houston Rockets in the second half of a game they couldn't afford to lose.
McGrady scored 18 of his 25 points in the third quarter, and the Rockets kept pace in the wild Western Conference playoff race with a victory over the Seattle SuperSonics.
On Thursday night in Portland, McGrady blitzed the Trail Blazers for 26 points in the second half of a 95-86 win.
A night later, he shot 9-of-13 in the third quarter, content to use his height advantage over Adrian Griffin to swish jumper after jumper. McGrady finished 11-of-27, missing four shots in the fourth quarter, but the Rockets stayed even with Phoenix in the battle for fifth in the Western Conference.
