Records: Pistons 25-7; Washington 15-15
Next: Pistons at Toronto, 7 p.m. Friday

The calendar might have turned over to a new year, but so far it’s produced the same old Pistons. They won their 10th straight game Wednesday night at Washington, starting 2008 the way they ended 2007 – with another beatdown. The 106-93 win sprung from a 10-0 run to start the second quarter, fueled by the bench, when the Pistons seized control. Jarvis Hayes, the ex-Wizard making his return to the city where he spent his first four NBA seasons, helped salt it away with three fourth-quarter triples and the Pistons ended another game with the last five players on the bench playing out the string and Chauncey Billups (16 points, 4 of 5 3-point shooting), Rasheed Wallace (16 points, eight rebounds) and Tayshaun Prince (11 points, five assists) taking the fourth quarter off in yet another double-digit win with seven players hitting double figures.

RIP HAMILTON: “We love it. When guys are playing like that, it’s only going to make us better, not just for the regular season but for the postseason because those guys are used to playing. We don’t call them bench players, we call them players. They take advantage of their minutes. When they get out there, they play hard and aggressive.”

WIZARDS COACH EDDIE JORDAN: “I told our team this was a test. When you play against the best team in the league – right now, they’re the best team – you have to see how you respond. And if this was a test, I give us a C or a C-minus.”

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