Hornets 102, Pistons 78: Marvin Williams scored 18 points and Kemba Walker scored all 17 of his points in the first half as host Charlotte got a much-needed victory.

Gerald Henderson scored 14 points and Mo WIlliams chipped in 13 off the bench for the Hornets, who sit two games behind the Brooklyn Nets for the eighth playoff spot in the East. P.J. Hairston finished with 12 points and Al Jefferson contributed 11 points and nine rebounds as Charlotte won for just the third time in 10 games.

Jodie Meeks scored 15 points off the bench for the Pistons, who had won five of their last six games. Reggie Jackson was held to nine points on 3-of-16 shooting and backcourt mate Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored two points on 1-of-6 shooting as Detroit shot just 35.2 percent from the field.

Walker scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the first quarter as Charlotte jumped to a 33-25 edge. The Hornets opened the second quarter on a 16-4 run, with Hairston converting a 3-pointer and a three-point play in a span of eight seconds before Detroit scratched back to get within 56-45 at the break.

Two quick hoops by Henderson helped Charlotte to a 16-point edge three minutes into the second half and Detroit closed within eight before two hoops from Mo Williams late in the stanza provided the Hornets a 73-62 lead heading into the fourth. Marvin Williams drained a 3-pointers to push the lead to 94-70 with 3:37 left, and the coaches emptied the benches.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Pistons C Andre Drummond got called for a flagrant-1 foul after elbowing Jefferson in the face while attempting a post-up move in the first quarter. … The Hornets have three must-wins coming up against Indiana, Philadelphia and Miami before playing Toronto twice, Atlanta and Houston in the season's last eight days. … Jackson averaged 24.3 points in his previous four games.