AUBURN HILLS, MICH. ? The Detroit Pistons knew they were taking a risk when they signed oft-injured Antonio McDyess as free agent last summer.

These days, there’s no doubt it was a shrewd move.

McDyess had 20 points and eight rebounds and the defending champions snapped a three-game losing streak with a 92-88 victory over the Golden State Warriors.

“He’s like that every game,” Pistons coach Larry Brown said. “I put him out there for 24 minutes and he gets us eight or nine rebounds and double-digit points. I don’t know what we would do without him.”

McDyess was one of the league’s top players before a series of knee injuries limited him to just 53 games over the last three seasons. This year, he is averaging 10.2 points and 6.4 rebounds while backing up Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace.

“He’s been doing this all year,” Ben Wallace said. “The only difference now is that people are starting to notice.”

McDyess credits his resurgence to an increased level of comfort with his knee.

“I was still hesitant when we started the season,” he said. “But coach told me to trust my leg and just play, and that’s made me a lot more comfortable.”

The Pistons, who had lost the final three games of a six-game West Coast trip, also received 20 points from Tayshaun Prince to extend their season-best home winning streak to eight.

“We didn’t have much energy tonight, but we did what we have to do,” Pistons guard Chauncey Billups said. “We tightened up our defense and picked each other up.”

The Warriors are 2-4 on their eight-game road trip.

“We were playing back-to-back on the road, but they just got back from a long trip, so both teams were struggling,” said Golden State coach Mike Montgomery. “We are playing well enough to win games like this, so we cannot be content with close losses anymore.”

Baron Davis tied the game at 88 with a three-pointer with 1:48 to go, but after both teams missed on their next possessions, Rasheed Wallace’s jumper put Detroit up two with 44.2 seconds left.

Boston forward Raef LaFrentz puts up a shot over Atlanta's Josh Childress during the first quarter. LaFrentz had six points in the Celtics' 95-91 victory Wednesday in Boston.

Former Michigan State player Jason Richardson was fouled 6 seconds later, but missed both free throws, and Prince put the game away with a driving layup at the other end.

“That was a tough way to lose,” Richardson said. “We played well against some great players and we did a good job of keeping it close. We just couldn’t finish.”

Richard Hamilton added 14 points for Detroit, which had five players in double figures, and Ben Wallace had 16 rebounds and seven points despite playing with a sore foot.

“It felt better tonight,” said Wallace, who may need off-season surgery.

“I’m just going to go out there and do everything I’m capable of doing.”

Davis led the Warriors with 21 points, while Mike Dunleavy had 15. Detroit led by as many as 11 in the first half, but Golden State narrowed the gap to 44-42 at the intermission.

Celtics 95, Hawks 91

Boston — Antoine Walker stole the ball from Al Harrington with 35 seconds left and fed Ricky Davis for the clinching basket.

The Hawks, who have the worst record in the NBA and just two road wins in 32 tries, led for the first 42 minutes and didn’t trail until Paul Pierce hit a fallaway jumper with 3:53 left. Pierce finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds, making 10 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter to ice the game.

Walker had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Celtics, who are 5-1 since getting him from Atlanta at the trading deadline. Davis scored 21 for the Atlantic Division-leading Celtics.

Harrington scored 21 points with 13 rebounds, Obinna Ekezie had 10 and 10 and Tyronn Lue scored 25 for the Hawks.

That Atlanta almost beat the Celtics was surprising enough. That the Hawks nearly did it on the road, where they had already lost 22 in a row, made it stunning.

Atlanta hasn’t won a road game since beating Detroit on Dec. 10, about three weeks after the brawl between the Pistons and Pacers spilled into the stands. The Hawks have won just one other road game — against New Orleans, the worst team in the Western Conference.

Nets 86, Hornets 85, OT

New Orleans — Jason Kidd’s rebound of a blocked shot and driving layup as he was fouled with 2.5 seconds left in overtime lifted the Nets.

The Hornets had a chance to win when rookie J.R. Smith was fouled on a three-point attempt with 1.5 seconds to go. But Smith missed the first two foul shots, then tried to miss the third but ended up putting it in off the backboard, allowing New Jersey to inbound the ball and run out the clock.

Vince Carter led the Nets with 24 points and 10 rebounds, while Kidd finished with 15 points and nine assists. Jacque Vaughn scored 13 points and Nenad Krstic 12 for New Jersey.

Raptors 106, Magic 96

Toronto — Chris Bosh had 15 points and 15 rebounds, and six other Toronto players reached double figures.

Orlando rookie Dwight Howard had 17 points and tied a season-high with 20 rebounds for the Magic.

Morris Peterson and Rafer Alston each had a team-high 16 points for the Raptors.

Orlando’s Steve Francis scored 27 points and Hedo Turkoglu added 21. Turkoglo started in place Grant Hill, who missed his second straight game because of an injured left shin.

Suns 107, Spurs 101

Phoenix –Amare Stoudemire scored 44 points for the Suns.

The Spurs played without injured All-Stars Tim Duncan (ankle) and Manu Ginobili (groin), preventing this from being a preview of a possible playoff meeting between teams battling for the NBA’s best record.

The coveted victory wasn’t locked up until Stoudemire dunked for a 105-98 lead with 1:19 to go on a play that began with Steve Nash missing a short jumper. Stoudemire had 13 points in the fourth quarter.

Shawn Marion had 18 points and 17 rebounds and Nash had 11 points and 15 assists. Leandro Barbosa scored 15 points off the bench and Johnson finished with 12.

Bulls 97, Blazers 84

Portland, Ore. — Eddy Curry had 25 points, Kirk Hinrich added 22 and the Chicago Bulls reached their highest win total in seven years.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Blazers, who are 0-4 under interim coach Kevin Pritchard.

The Bulls (31-27) surpassed the 30-win mark for the first time since 1997-98.

Travis Outlaw had a career-high 17 points, and Sebastian Telfair and Damon Stoudamire added 13 apiece.