Chauncey Billups scored 22 points, and the Detroit Pistons moved to the verge of clinching the top seed in the Eastern Conference by beating the New York Knicks, 91-83, last night for their 50th victory.

Richard Hamilton added 19 points, including two baskets in a late spurt that let the lethargic Pistons pull out the win. Detroit, which beat Cleveland on Sunday, was tied with the short-handed Knicks with less than 3 minutes to play.

The Pistons (50-27) lowered their magic number to one for clinching the home-court advantage throughout the East playoffs. They have won 50 games in a franchise-record six consecutive seasons, one more than a stretch from 1986-91 when they were led by current Knicks coach Isiah Thomas.

Eddy Curry and Nate Robinson scored 24 points apiece for the Knicks, whose playoff hopes are all but gone. They entered three games behind eighth-place Orlando and are running out of time and healthy bodies.

Stephon Marbury missed his second consecutive game with a sprained right big toe that may also keep him out of today's game at Chicago, and rookie Renaldo Balkman was out with a stomach virus. David Lee was in uniform but didn't play because of the pain in his right leg, forcing Thomas to use some strange combinations and give rare playing time to Randolph Morris and Kelvin Cato.

Steve Francis came back after missing five games with a sprained right ankle, but didn't make it all the way through. He was ejected by referee Steve Javie after picking up two quick technical fouls for arguing a call early in the fourth quarter.

The Pistons trailed by 10 in the final minute of the third quarter before Billups woke them up with a flurry. He made the tiebreaking jumper with 2:37 to play, Hamilton added a 3-pointer and Rasheed Wallace added a follow dunk to give Detroit an 86-79 lead with 1:26 remaining. Hamilton made another jumper to make the lead seven again with under a minute left.

Wallace was back in the starting lineup after coming off the bench Sunday. The Pistons are trying to limit Wallace's time because of a hyperextended finger on his left (non-shooting) hand. Antonio McDyess, who started Sunday, had 11 points and 13 rebounds.

Other highlights

Hedo Turkoglu scored 25 points and the Orlando Magic shot a season-best 62.5 percent from the field in a 117-94 victory against the host Milwaukee Bucks. The Magic is trying to hold onto the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. ... Tony Parker scored 30 points to help the host San Antonio Spurs beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 112-96. ... Anthony Parker scored 13 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, and the Toronto Raptors rallied to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 111-100.

Notes

Milwaukee Bucks leading scorer Michael Redd will miss the final six games of the season with a nagging left knee injury. Redd appeared in 53 games for the Bucks this season and averaged a career-best 26.7 points per game -- the highest scoring average for a Bucks player since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar averaged 30.0 points during the 1974-75 season. ... Miami Heat forward James Posey was arrested in Miami Beach on a DUI charge yesterday. ... Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith was suspended by the team for two games, one day after an expletive-filled tirade at coach Mike Woodson late in a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. ... Portland Trail Blazers rookie LaMarcus Aldridge is out for the season after his rapid heartbeat was found to be caused by Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome. A statement released by the team said the diagnosis was made after Aldridge, 21, underwent a series of tests at Providence St. Vincent's Medical Center in Portland, Ore.