Heat Win Four Straight In 110-88 Rout Of Pistons
MIAMI (AP) — Dwyane Wade scored 29 points and sparked a pivotal run to help the Miami Heat earn their fourth victory in a row Friday by beating the Detroit Pistons 110-88.
The Heat got even for a loss at Detroit on Dec. 28. They improved to 18-3 at home, while the Pistons fell to 4-16 on the road.
After falling behind by nine points, the Heat outscored Detroit 26-4 during a seven-minute stretch in the second quarter to take a 60-47 lead. Wade scored 15 points during the spurt.
LeBron James had 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Heat, who shot 56 percent. Over the past two seasons, they're 34-2 when shooting at least 50 percent.
Miami, last in the NBA in rebounds, also won the battle of the boards, 36-35.
Greg Monroe scored 31 points for the Pistons, who never got close in the second half.
One of the night's biggest cheers came when a 50-year-old computer technician from McHenry, Ill., made a half-court shot to win $75,000 and a hug from James.
As part of a contest sponsored by James' foundation, Michael Drysch sank a one-handed hook shot from midcourt between periods. James watched from the bench, and when the shot swished in, he happily sprinted at Drysch and embraced him, and both tumbled to the court.
Wade's most acrobatic basket was a fallaway jumper when he was fouled. He took a tumble and slid across the floor on his backside as the ball swished through the net.
On three successive possessions late in the first half, James and Wade took turns feeding each other.
First, James threw an alley-oop pass to Wade for an easy layup.
The Heat then forced a turnover to start a fast break that ended with Wade's alley-oop pass to James for a dunk.
Next came another Pistons turnover, and Wade flipped an underhand pass across the lane to James for another dunk and a 60-47 lead.
Wade's final points came on a dunk to make it 99-79. He was then replaced by Chris Andersen, making his first appearance in an NBA game since playing with Denver last March. The veteran forward-center signed a 10-day deal with the Heat on Sunday.
Andersen, who played the final 3½ minutes, had two points and two rebounds.
