Turkish international Mehmet Okur scored a career-high 27 points and Richard Hamilton also scored 27 to lift the Detroit Pistons to a 94-89 victory over the Toronto Raptors.

Okur, one of the many NBA players on show at the European Championships last summer in Sweden, added 14 rebounds as he picked up the slack for Ben Wallace, the two-time Defensive Player of the Year who was ejected with 1:28 left in the first half after receiving two technical fouls. He got the first for arguing an offensive foul call and the second moments later when he
kicked the basketball in anger.

"I tried to be a superstar tonight," Okur said. "It felt great out there."

Okur and Hamilton combined to score 25 of Detroit's 27 fourth-quarter points. Okur scored 14 points in the final period and Hamilton added 11.

With the shot clock winding down, Hamilton hit a jumper to give the Pistons a 92-87 lead with nine seconds left. Alvin Williams hit a layup six seconds later, then stole the ensuing inbounds pass. He nearly tied the game, but his 3-pointer rimmed out.

The Pistons have won seven straight home games. The overall winning streak is their longest since taking 11 in a row from December 26, 1990-January 17, 1991.

Tip-off was delayed 30 minutes because of heavy snow, forcing the officials to arrive late.
"It's really hard to play without Ben (Wallace) and everybody feels that way because he is the best defensive player in this league," Okur said.

"We came into the second half knowing we had to play harder, especially defensively, because Ben wasn't there."

Detroit launched its second-half comeback by attacking the basket and drawing fouls. The Pistons shot 32-of-41 from the free-throw line. Okur hit 13-of-14 free throws while Hamilton connected on 9-of-12.

The Pistons opened the fourth quarter with an 11-4 run to take a 77-76 lead with 7:06 left. The lead changed hands three more times before Hamilton's runner put Detroit ahead for good, 86-85, with 2:28 left.