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TORONTO: Richard Hamilton and the Detroit Pistons continued their
hot streak on Friday, overpowering the Toronto Raptors 101-85 for
their 11th consecutive victory.
Hamilton netted 22 points and Rasheed Wallace
scored 20 for the Pistons, who came into the game as the hottest
team in the National Basketball Association.
Detroit now squares off against the Boston
Celtics on Saturday in a showdown between the Eastern Conference’s
top two clubs.
The Pistons came into the game with a 21-1
record when leading after three periods and continued their trend
opening the fourth quarter with six consecutive points, capped by a
steal and a lay-up by rookie Rodney Stuckey at 10:31 to give the
Pistons a 75-64 advantage.
Two jump shots by Hamilton and another from
Stuckey at 7:57 restored the Pistons biggest lead to that point at
83-70.
Wallace then nailed two three-pointers as
Detroit closed the game on a 12-4 spurt and took its largest
advantage at the final horn.
Meanwhile, Frenchman Tony Parker of the San
Antonio Spurs was named European Player of the Year for 2007.
The award is given by Italian sports newspaper
Gazzetta dello Sport, which named Parker as its 29th winner,
succeeding Germany’s Dirk Nowitzki, winner for the previous five
years.
Point guard Parker finished with 128 points to
111 for Dallas Mavericks forward Nowitzki with Russia’s Andrei
Kirilenko of the Utah Jazz third on 85 points.
The jury is made up of 100 writers, coaches and
players from 28 different countries.
In the women’s category, Latvia’s Aneta
Jekabsone beat Belgium’s Ann Wauters to the title with last
year’s winner Maria Stepanova of Russia in third.
-- AFP
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