NBA ROUNDUP Thursday's games

Pistons 103, Lakers 81
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- In a rematch of the NBA Finals, the result was the same. Rasheed Wallace had 23 points and a season-high 15 rebounds and Tayshaun Prince scored 25 points as Detroit got off to a strong start. The Pistons looked a lot like the team that disposed of Los Angeles in five games while winning by an average margin of 13 points, while the Lakers bear almost no resemblance to their predecessors from last season. The Pistons led by 14 points less than five minutes into a game that was never in doubt. Lamar Odom led the Lakers with 17 points and Caron Butler had 12. Detroit's Chauncey Billups had 15 points and a season-high 11 assists, Ben Wallace grabbed 15 rebounds, Richard Hamilton scored 11 and the Pistons had a season-high 30 assists.
Magic 101, Hawks 96
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Steve Francis scored 11 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, including a game-deciding 17-footer with 17 seconds to play. Hedo Turkoglu added 24 points and rookie Dwight Howard had 15 points and 20 rebounds for the Magic, who had lost four of their previous five. Howard became the first rookie since Tim Duncan in 1997-98 to record two 20-rebound games in a season. Antoine Walker led Atlanta with 25 points, including a 3-pointer with 38 seconds left to cut what had been a 20-point deficit to 97-94. Francis answered with his 17-foot jumper over Tony Delk to end the Hawks' rally. Delk had 25 points for Atlanta, which lost for the fourth time in five games.
Associated Press