Miami Heat defeat the Detroit Pistons 100-94
The Miami Heat put in a spirited fourth quarter performance to overcome the Detroit Pistons 100-94 at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit on Wednesday night.
Miami stepped it up in the fourth quarter with a 15-point unanswered run, which included four points and two assists from LeBron James, to overcome the Pistons eight-point lead and outscore their opponents 27-13. This was Miami’s sixth win in their last
seven games.
The Pistons came out aggressively as they kept a lid on Miami in the early stages by allowing them only 21 points in the first period. Miami held an early four-point lead before the Pistons went on a 15–3 run to take a seven-point lead with four and a half
minutes to go in the first quarter. Detroit was up 27–21 going into the second quarter.
Miami picked-up their game in the second period with James and Wade adding 17 points to cut the Pistons lead down to just two heading into the half time break.
Miami’s Big Three combined for 66 points on the night, as they once again saw minimal contribution from their bench. Mike Bibby had his first start in place of injured guard Mario Chalmers but only managed five points in the outing.
Dwyane Wade top-scored for Miami with 24 points, while Chris Bosh added 23 points and seven boards. James also had a good all-round game with 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Both teams shot close to 50 percent from the field and didn’t turn the ball over too much to keep the game close going into the fourth. The Pistons had the game under control for the first three quarters, before Miami responded in the fourth to completely
blow the game open and snatch victory.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra praised his side's resilience after the game. He said, "We were getting our tails handed to us. It was humbling through three quarters. There is no easy win in this league. If you're not bringing your best effort with a sense of
urgency and a real disposition on that side of the floor, that can happen to you."
Miami allowed the Pistons to shoot 59.6 percent through the first three quarters before clamping down on the defensive end. Detroit could only manage a measly 21 percent shooting to add a lowly 13 points in the final period.
Heat forward LeBron James praised his team-mates after the game. He said, "It's a 48-minute game, and we need to play all 48 minutes. We didn't do that tonight, but we took a team that was rolling and we held them to 13 points on 4-of-19 shooting in the
fourth. That's big."
Richard Hamilton scored all of the Piston’s last nine points in the third quarter to finish with 13. The Pistons had an 81 -73 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
Miami started the last quarter with a 15–0 spurt to take control of the game and forced the Pistons into some tough looks at the basket to emerge victorious in the contest.
Richard Hamilton had 27 points on 9-for-16 shooting for the Detroit Pistons, while Greg Monroe added 14 points and 12 rebounds.
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