Sunday's just not Pistons' day

No effort at the beginning, no Richard Hamilton at the end, and still no wins on Sunday for the Detroit Pistons.

Chris Duhon had 25 points and nine assists, Quentin Richardson scored 23 points, and the New York Knicks blew most of a 29-point lead before holding off the Pistons 104-92 at Madison Square Garden, snapping a three-game losing streak.

Wilson Chandler and Al Harrington hit key three-pointers for the Knicks, who dropped the Pistons to 0-5 on Sundays. It seemed the victory would be easy after New York led by double digits for nearly all the first three quarters, but Detroit finally woke up in the fourth and got within five.

"We just needed to win. We lost a couple of games in a row," Duhon said. "We've just got to start feeling good about ourselves and understand that, again, it's a long season, it's a process. There's going to be bumps in the road but we've just got to fight through it and keep playing hard."

Detroit coach Michael Curry said he would contemplate lineup changes after his starters were down by double digits just minutes into the game.

"Regardless of how well you play, one thing you can always do every night is play hard and there's no excuse for that," Allen Iverson said. "We get a lot of money to come out here and perform to the highest of our ability and there's no reason why you shouldn't come out and give that effort."

Harrington finished with 18 points and Chandler had 17 for the Knicks. David Lee had 12 points and 19 rebounds as all but nine points came from New York's starters.

Tayshaun Prince had 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Pistons, who fell to 7-8 since Iverson's debut with the team. Iverson and Arron Afflalo each finished with 17 points for the Pistons.

Detroit played nearly the entire fourth quarter without Hamilton, who was thrown out of a game. He got a technical foul in the first half, then was called for another and ejected after appearing to give a little shove to Jared Jeffries after fouling him.

In other games:

* At Indianapolis, Ray Allen scored a season-high 35 points, and the Boston Celtics defeated the Indiana Pacers 122-117 in overtime, increasing their winning streak to 12 games.

Kevin Garnett had 17 points, 20 rebounds and five steals, Paul Pierce had 17 points and eight rebounds and Eddie House had 15 points for Boston (20-2). The Celtics are on their longest win streak since 1986 when they won 14 straight on their way to the NBA title.

Indiana is one of two teams to beat Boston this season, and the Pacers nearly pulled it off again by shooting 50 percent from the field against the league's top defensive team. The 117 points were the most the Celtics have allowed this season.

* At Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant had 20 points and a season-high eight assists, Derek Fisher added 19 points and the Lakers beat Milwaukee, 105-92, improving their record to 17-2 and equaling the best 19-game start in the franchise's 61-year history.

The Lakers also started the 1985-86 season 17-2. This was the sixth time the team has won 17 of its first 20 games, including the championship seasons of 1971-72 and 2001-02. All the Lakers' starters scored in double digits, something none of the Bucks' starters did.

* At Toronto, LaMarcus Aldridge scored 20 points, Steve Blake had 19 that included a three-pointer with 9 seconds left, and Portland spoiled Raptors coach Jay Triano's home debut with a 98-97 victory.

Jermaine O'Neal scored a season-high 24 points along with six blocked shots, while Chris Bosh added 19, but it wasn't enough to give Triano his first win as the Raptors lost their fourth straight. *