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Heat crush Pistons sans Wade

Apr 9, 2012 - 2:17 AM Miami, FL (Sports Network) - LeBron James scored 26 points, while Chris Bosh added 22 points and nine rebounds as the Dwyane Wade-less Miami Heat routed the Detroit Pistons, 98-75, on Sunday.

James Jones nailed six three-pointers en route to a season-high 18 points for the Heat, who moved to 10-1 without Wade this season. The All-Star guard sat to rest a sprained right ankle.

"Tonight we had great spacing, and I was able to get some easy ones," Jones said.

Brandon Knight had 16 points and five rebounds for the Pistons, who have lost two straight since winning five of six.

"We know we could have played a much better game," admitted Knight. "The fight was there, but we gave up a lot of easy baskets tonight that we normally do not do."

The Pistons led 21-19 after a quarter of play, but the Heat began to pull away in the second.

After Ben Gordon's three-pointer pulled Detroit within 33-32 midway through the stanza, the Heat responded with nine straight points as James capped the spurt with a putback dunk for a 42-32 advantage.

Miami took a 50-40 lead into the locker room. James netted 15 points on 7- of-13 shooting from the floor in the opening half, while Bosh poured in 14 points to pace the Heat.

The 20-point barrier was breached in the third frame following a 13-1 run.

James nailed a trey and a mid-range jumper during the surge, which Shane Battier capped with a reverse layup for a commanding 67-45 lead midway through the period.

The Pistons never threatened in the fourth as the Heat led by as many as 28 points, cruising to the easy victory.

Game Notes

The Pistons were just 3-of-19 from beyond the arc...The Heat scored 25 points off of 22 Detroit turnovers...Greg Monroe and Rodney Stuckey finished with 11 points apiece for Detroit.