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Stuckey leads way as Pistons handle Heat easily

Apr 7, 2008 - 1:29 AM MIAMI (Ticker) -- Tayshaun Prince and the Detroit Pistons were able to get plenty of rest against the woeful Miami Heat.

Prince scored 14 points in limited action and rookie Rodney Stuckey added 19 as the Pistons clinched the second seed in the Eastern Conference with a 91-75 victory over the Heat on Sunday.

Jason Maxiell, Juan Dixon, Jarvis Hayes and Arron Afflalo each scored 10 points for Detroit, which has won five straight and is in the midst of its seventh straight 50-win season.

The Pistons did not need regulars like Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace and Richard Hamilton to handle the Heat, who have lost seven straight and 18 of their last 20 games.

Billups had eight points and six assists in 24 minutes, while Wallace scored four points in 20 minutes. Prince played just 19 minutes. Meanwhile, Hamilton has missed six of the last seven games with a sore hip, and there was no need for him to play in this one.

"We played our main guys 24 (minutes) or less," Detroit coach Flip Saunders said. "They executed well, I thought our young guys came in and did a nice job and found a way to finish. There is no question that Stuck was very good again."

"I'm not out there thinking about anything," Stuckey said. "I'm just playing. When I'm out there thinking about a lot of stuff, that's when I make a lot of mistakes. That's why I'm out there just free-balling, just playing my game ... I was the guy to go to in college."

Hayes scored all 10 of his points in the first half to lead Detroit to a 39-27 edge at the break. The Pistons opened the third quarter on a 14-5 run and led by as many as 20 late in the fourth quarter.

"I think it's really good, we're really learning how to play as a unit from a bench standpoint," Afflalo said. "That's always a positive thing heading into the playoffs."

Earl Barron scored 20 points for the Heat, who scored just 11 points in the second quarter and shot 35 percent (25-of-71) from the floor.

"We could not make anything tonight," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "We have really not established a driving game since Dwyane (Wade) has been out, so most of the time we are relegated to jumpers. That is where we were tonight. We could not make much and could not get much of a run going."

It was the second straight game in which six Pistons reached double figures in scoring, something to build on with the playoffs just a few weeks away.

"I'm not looking to the playoffs, we still have five or six games left," Stuckey said. "We're just taking them one game at a time and trying to get better. ... Whoever we play, we'll be ready to play."

Meanwhile, Miami needs three wins in its final five games to avoid finishing with the worst record in franchise history.