AUBURN HILLS, MICH. ? Rick Carlisle loves that his Detroit Pistons are 12-4. He just hates how they’ve been winning.

Richard Hamilton scored 20 points and Ben Wallace added 12 points and 21 rebounds to help Detroit to a 96-91 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night.

Still, Carlisle wasn’t pleased.

“To win a game and feel like things are automatically great just isn’t the way to go,” he said. “I’m glad we made some big plays, but the rest of it is just a mish-mash, especially defensively. We give up transition jump shots and layups like free cotton candy. It’s a joke. The identity of this team, to me, is sacred, and it is being compromised.”

Carlisle didn’t name names, but rookie Tayshaun Prince did not play in the fourth quarter despite a career-high 13 points. Hamilton played just four minutes in the final period.

Even though the Pistons held Milwaukee under their season average of 99.4 points, Wallace agreed with his coach.

“We pride ourselves on defense, and we have got to get that in play again,” he said. “I can’t put my finger on the cause right now, but we will watch film and figure it out.”

Cliff Robinson, though, wasn’t as negative.

Milwaukee's Jason Caffey, left, has the ball knocked away by Detroit's Ben Wallace. The Pistons defeated the Bucks, 96-91, Friday night in Auburn Hills, Mich.

“That team is capable of scoring a lot of points,” he said. “We didn’t bear down as hard as we should have, but at the same time, that is a good team and they made shots.”

Six Pistons scored in double figures, and the only starter who didn’t, Chucky Atkins, had 12 assists to go with eight points. Wallace grabbed at least 20 rebounds for the fourth time in his last six games as Detroit improved to 7-1 at home.

Milwaukee, which lost for the third time in four games, received 27 points from Sam Cassell.

Lakers 112, Grizzlies 106, OT

Memphis, Tenn. ” Kobe Bryant scored eight of his 45 points in overtime to lead Los Angeles past Memphis. It was the Grizzlies’ first regular-season game against Los Angeles since former Lakers star and general manager Jerry West came out of retirement to become president of Memphis’ basketball operations in April.

Shaquille O’Neal tied the score at 98 with a free throw with 11 seconds left in regulation but missed his second shot. Memphis’ Jason Williams hit a three-pointer with 15 seconds to go in regulation to give the Grizzlies a 98-97 advantage.

76ers 106, Cavaliers 99

Cleveland ” Allen Iverson took over in the final two minutes and Philadelphia withstood Cleveland’s furious fourth-quarter comeback for a win against the Cavaliers, who have lost 13 straight.

Iverson finished with 29 points, but had to rescue the Sixers down the stretch when the Cavs chopped an 18-point deficit in the fourth down to two with 2:02 remaining.

Iverson then made two steals, hit a driving layup over Jumaine Jones and sank two free throws as Philadelphia hung on to beat Cleveland for the 14th consecutive time.

Kings 107, Clippers 94

Sacramento, Calif. ” Bobby Jackson scored a career-high 31 points, and Doug Christie had a season-high 25 as Sacramento remained perfect at home with a victory over Los Angeles. With Peja Stojakovic and Hedo Turkoglu joining three injured teammates in street clothes, Sacramento dressed the NBA-minimum eight players.

Hawks 100, Heat 94, OT

Atlanta ” Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 29 points as Atlanta rallied from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter and beat Miami in overtime. Miami’s Mike James hit a three-pointer with 3.6 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime tied at 88. Abdur-Rahim put the Hawks ahead for good, 94-91, on a jumper with 2:41 remaining in the extra period.

Pacers 100, Wizards 84

Indianapolis ” Michael Jordan might be retiring, but Reggie Miller can still play. The 37-year-old Miller scored 17 of his 25 points in the decisive third quarter, and Ron Artest added 21 as Indiana beat Washington. The Pacers, who have the best record in the Eastern Conference at 13-2, made 35 of 36 free throws and improved to 9-1 at home.

Raptors 98, Celtics 95

Boston ” Morris Peterson scored a career-high 31 points and Vince Carter added 23 in his first start since Nov. 2 as Toronto snapped a six-game losing streak. Antoine Walker tied a season high with 31 points for the Celtics, who had their four-game winning streak snapped.

It was Carter’s second game back after missing the team’s previous 10 with a strained quadriceps muscle in his left knee. In Wednesday night’s loss to the Wizards, he scored 16 points and had seven rebounds in 24 minutes.

Suns 94, Spurs 87

Phoenix ” Stephon Marbury scored 43 points ” his biggest output since joining Phoenix before last season ” as the Suns rallied to beat San Antonio. Marbury had a team-record 26 points in the fourth quarter in his biggest game since he scored a career-high 50 for New Jersey on Feb. 13, 2001, against the Los Angeles Lakers. Shawn Marion and Scott Williams had 11 points and 11 rebounds apiece.

Jazz 95, Timberwolves 77

Salt Lake City ” Matt Harpring set a career-high for the second straight game with 33 points as Utah won its sixth straight game. Coming off his previous career-high of 30 points against the Clippers on Tuesday, Harpring made his first seven shots ” primarily against Kevin Garnett, who is four inches taller. Harpring made 13 of 18 shots, including all four of his three-point attempts.

Karl Malone scored 20 points and reserve Jarron Collins had 12 and a season-high nine rebounds. Garnett led the Wolves with 21 points and 13 rebounds, and Rasho Nesterovic added 16 points.

Warriors 92, Nuggets 82

Denver ” Earl Boykins scored 20 points and had six of his sevens steals during a key run in the third quarter as Golden State overcame a 21-point deficit to beat Denver. Gilbert Arenas added 27 points and seven assists for Golden State, which won for just the third time in eight games. Juwan Howard had 19 points and 13 rebounds for Denver.

Rockets 83, Sonics 72

Seattle ” Steve Francis had a streaky night but scored 13 of his 21 points in the third quarter as Houston beat Seattle. Glen Rice and Kenny Thomas each added 12 points for Houston, but the Sonics did plenty to beat themselves. Seattle lost its third straight, shooting 37 percent and posting a season low with 26 second-half points.