AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Chauncey Billups scored 15 of his 21 points in the third quarter and the revitalized Detroit Pistons rallied past the Minnesota Timberwolves 93-85 Wednesday night.

Billups, Ben Wallace and coach Larry Brown also returned to the Pistons after absences.

Billups missed the Pistons’ previous game – a loss in Utah – with a sprained ankle. Wallace was out two games because of a death in his family.

Brown missed five games, including three losses, with a hip problem.

The team announced an hour before the game that he would probably not coach, but he joined the team during pregame introductions. Brown had a special chair at courtside to ease the pain.

Richard Hamilton led Detroit with 24 points and Tayshaun Prince added 19.

Kevin Garnett had 24 points and 13 rebounds for Minnesota, while Latrell Sprewell scored 24.

Magic 107, Jazz 92

ORLANDO, Fla. – Grant Hill scored 32 points, his most in 4 years, and Steve Francis had 33 points and 11 assists, both season highs, to lead the Orlando Magic over the Utah Jazz 107-92.

Mostly shooting jumpers over Andrei Kirilenko, usually a dependable defensive stopper, Hill shot 13-for-18 in his best offensive performance since scoring 36 points against Minnesota on April 10, 2000.

Pacers 93, Hawks 86

INDIANAPOLIS – Jermaine O’Neal’s big game spoiled an otherwise happy homecoming for his good friend Al Harrington.

O’Neal had 25 points and 13 rebounds to offset a dazzling performance by Harrington in the Indiana Pacers’ 93-86 win over the Atlanta Hawks.

Austin Croshere added 13 points, 13 rebounds and two electrifying dunks in the fourth quarter to help the Pacers ward off the pesky Hawks.

Harrington, who spent his first six seasons in Indiana before being traded in the offseason for Stephen Jackson, scored 30 points on 12-of-19 shooting.

Sonics 79, Nets 68

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – A night of ugly basketball failed to blemish the Seattle SuperSonics’ surprisingly good-looking record.

Despite starting the first half 0-for-10 and the second half 0-for-8, the Sonics got some timely offense from Rashard Lewis and improved the NBA’s best record to 8-1 with a 79-68 victory over the New Jersey Nets.

Seattle’s eighth straight win came against a Nets team that had more fouls (29) than field goals (26) and committed 23 turnovers.

Though the Sonics have been a picture of success since losing their opener by 30 points to the Clippers, their latest victory was anything but a work of art. In a sloppy game that featured poor shooting and careless ballhandling, Seattle was still good enough to get past the league’s worst offensive team.

Lewis scored 17 points and Ray Allen, Danny Fortson and Vladimir Radmanovic added 14 each as Seattle improved to 2-0 on a six-game, 10-day road trip.

Richard Jefferson had 20 points, and Travis Best scored all 13 of his points in the fourth quarter for the Nets as they lost their fourth in a row.

Seattle began the night leading the NBA in 3-point accuracy and ranked third in scoring, but those attributes were largely absent in the Sonics’ second game in two nights.

The point total was Seattle’s lowest of the season, and the Sonics also had nearly as many fouls (23) as field goals (26).

Neither team reached 50 points until Lewis hit a 3-pointer with 1:24 left in the third quarter to make it 51-44. The Nets finally got to the 50-point plateau 21/2 minutes into the fourth, pulling to 55-50 on a layup by Jefferson.

Best single-handedly kept the Nets within striking distance by making three straight baskets and a pair of foul shots midway through the fourth quarter.

Jefferson’s two free throws cut Seattle’s lead to 64-60 with 3:13 left, but Lewis answered with a 3-pointer to begin a string of seven consecutive possessions that ended with scores.

One night after matching a team record with 18 3-pointers, Seattle went 5-for-15 from behind the arc. The Nets were 0-for-7 on 3s.

Notes: Alonzo Mourning and Fortson got rather physical with each other during a stretch of the second quarter, with Fortson turning to yell at Mourning after going to the bench with his third foul. … The Nets, last in the league in attendance, drew a crowd of 12,127. Only about 2,000 stuck around until the end. … Seattle is 4-0 vs. teams from the Eastern Conference. … The Sonics won in New Jersey for the first time in four years. … Defended primarily by Jefferson, Allen was held below 20 points for the first time this season.

AP-ES-11-17-04 2223EST