MILWAUKEE, Feb. 24 (Ticker) -- Sam Cassell lived up to his clutch moniker in a playoff-type atmosphere.

Cassell scored 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting and Ray Allen added 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to an 89-82 victory over the Detroit Pistons in a battle for first place in the Central Division.

NBA TV highlights from Pistons-Bucks: 56k | 300k Sam Cassell had the hot hand to lead the Bucks with 27 points. Gary Dineen/NBAE/Getty Images

"This was a big win for us because we were playing for first in the Central Division," said Cassell, who played for Houston's back-to-back championship teams in 1994-95. "If we continue to play like that you're going to see us win a lot more games."

Ben Wallace had a triple-double for the Pistons, tying a club record with 10 blocked shots to go with 10 points and 17 rebounds.

"It felt good to go out and work like that, but if we had the win it would have been sweeter," said Wallace, who leads the NBA with 181 blocked shots and is second in rebounding at 12.3 per game.

But his performance was not enough to offset a poor shooting day by the Pistons, who hit just 37 percent from the field. Leading scorer Jerry Stackhouse converted just 8-of-27 shots, missed all five 3-pointers and finished with 19 points. Detroit's second-leading scorer Clifford Robinson was just 4-of-11 from the field and had 12 points.

"We missed some shots that we normally make and they made some big defensive plays," Robinson said.

The loss snapped Detroit's franchise-best seven-game road winning streak and dropped the Pistons one game behind Milwaukee in the Central.

"If we can play in the 80s and low 90s, we feel that is our tempo, especially against a team like Milwaukee," Pistons coach Rick Carlisle said.

A 12-0 run bridging the first and second quarters put the Bucks in control and they were never headed in the second half.

The Pistons pulled within 86-82 on a pair of free throws by Stackhouse with 1:14 left. After a miss in the lane by Milwaukee's Anthony Mason, Detroit could have moved even closer but Jon Barry misfired on a wide-open 3-point attempt from the left sideline with 29 seconds remaining.

Cassell converted three free throws in the final 17 seconds to seal Milwaukee's third straight win.

"(Detroit guard) Damon Jones told me this felt like a playoff atmosphere and he was right," Allen said. "This definitely had the intensity of a playoff game."

Milwaukee's Glenn Robinson, who ripped coach George Karl after being benched midway through the fourth quarter in the Bucks' win over Golden State on Friday, had 13 points in 35 minutes.

The Bucks scored the last six points of the first quarter on baskets by Tim Thomas and Ervin Johnson and a pair of free throws by Cassell and the first six points of the second quarter on a layup by Michael Redd, a short jumper by Cassell and a sideline shot by Mason to open a 30-19 lead.

Jones connected on a 3-pointer and Corliss Williamson hit a jumper to pull the Pistons within 30-24, but the Bucks responded with a 13-5 run.

A jumper by Glenn Robinson capped the spurt and gave Milwaukee its biggest lead of the half at 43-29 with 2:43 left.

The Pistons then went on a 9-2 run as Chucky Atkins hit a 3-pointer and a layup and Clifford Robinson had a 3-pointer and a free throw. But Darvin Ham closed the half with a dunk to give Milwaukee a 47-38 advantage.

"I like the way we played in the first half," Karl said. "We didn't get loose when we had the lead and we played solid defensively."

A 3-pointer by Allen gave Milwaukee its biggest lead at 60-45 with 8:36 left in the third quarter.

The Pistons scored eight straight points as Wallace and Atkins had two baskets each, pulling them within 60-53, but Glenn Robinson hit a jumper and Allen connected on a 3-pointer to open the lead to 12.

The Pistons closed within 74-71 on a 10-foot jumper by Williamson with 5:38 left, but Allen scored seven straight points for Milwaukee.

A pair of free throws by Cassell increased the lead to 84-76 before Barry completed a four-point play with 2:11 remaining.

"You're going to have big games during the regular season," Karl said. "The truth of the matter is you learn how to play in the playoffs by playing big games during the regular season."