Final
James, Heat rout Pistons
Mar 29, 2014 - 4:07 AMVideo
Udonis Haslem also scored 17 and Chris Bosh contributed 15 points and nine boards for Miami, which was missing Dwyane Wade (hamstring), Mario Chalmers (bruised quad), Greg Oden (back spasms) and Ray Allen (flu). The Southeast Division champions made 54.4 percent of their shots, including 8-of-19 from 3- point range to bounce back from an 84-83 loss at Indiana Wednesday.
"We were able to control the tempo tonight and they had to adjust to us," James said. "We got shots the whole night and we were able to have an advantage on the boards. That was key for us tonight."
Greg Monroe and Will Bynum each had 12 points for the Pistons, who shot 38 percent from the field, including 3-of-24 from beyond the arc. Detroit, which lost for the seventh time in eight contests, also received 11 points from Kyle Singler.
Haslem scored 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the opening quarter to boost the visitors to a 28-23 lead after 12 minutes. His jumper capped a 10-2 burst for an 18-13 edge.
The Heat scored the final 11 points of the second quarter with James netting a pair of driving layups to widen the gap to 57-42 at halftime. Chris Andersen had 10 of his 13 points in the period.
"They play hard no matter who they play, no matter who they dress, no matter who they put in the game," Pistons coach John Loyer said of the Heat. "Their second unit had some separation and when they brought their group back in to end the second quarter, they had huge separation. The game went from a one, two-point game to a six-point game and then a 15-point game at the half. You can't do that against a quality team like this."
Miami shot 13-of-21 from the floor in the third quarter and limited Detroit to 6-of-19 to make the contest a blowout. James Jones, Bosh and James hit 3- pointers in a span of less than two minutes to move the gap to 68-49.
Another Bosh jumper increased the margin to 30 points and the Heat held a 92-60 cushion moving to the fourth when they had the luxury to rest their starters.
Game Notes
Members of the 1989 Pistons NBA championship team, including Isiah Thomas, Vinnie Johnson and Bill Laimbeer, were on hand for a halftime ceremony ... Norris Cole had 12 points and seven assists for the Heat ... Andre Drummond pulled down 14 rebounds for the Pistons, who play at Philadelphia Saturday night. A win by Detroit would give the Sixers their 27th straight loss, which would break the NBA record for a single-season losing streak.
Mar 28 9:48 PM- MIAMI: 92
DETROIT: 60
End of 3rd
Mar 28 9:19 PM - MIAMI: 57
DETROIT: 42
Halftime
Mar 28 8:33 PM - MIAMI: 28
DETROIT: 23
End of 1st
Mar 28 8:02 PM - MIAMI: 0
DETROIT: 0
1st Quarter - 11:42
Mar 28 7:44 PM
Related News
- Shaquille O’Neal To Be First To Have Jersey Retired by Magic Jan 4
- Pistons Lose 28th Straight After Blowing Lead to Celtics Dec 29
- LeBron James Has Been At His Best for Many Birthdays Dec 29
- Pistons vs. Nets GameThread: Game Time, TV, Odds, and More Dec 23
- Tom Gores speaks: 6 biggest takeaways from Gores’ sitdown with the media Dec 23
- Pistons vs. Nets preview: The wrong kind of history on the line for Detroit tonight Dec 23
- The Pindown: Losing with Velocity Dec 23
- Pistons lost 25th straight, fans break out in ‘sell the team’ chants Dec 21
- Pistons vs. Jazz GameThread: Game Time, TV, Odds, and More Dec 21
- Pistons vs. Jazz preview: Will this be the one? Dec 21
- Submit your questions for The Pindown: A Detroit Pistons Podcast Dec 19
- Pistons vs. Hawks GameThread: Game Time, TV, Odds, and More Dec 18