NEW YORK, 28 November 2004 — Richard Hamilton banked in the winning shot with 1.3 seconds remaining as the Detroit Pistons edged the Miami Heat 78-77 in Auburn Hills on Friday.
Hamilton led the Pistons with 24 points as the defending NBA champions got back to the .500 mark and also improved to 2-2 since their brawl against Indiana a week ago. Chauncey Billups added 15 points for the Pistons, who were once again without Ben Wallace, who was serving the fourth game of his six-game suspension for his part in the Indiana brawl.
It was the Heat’s first loss in nine games against an Eastern Conference rival, but they did have a chance to snatch victory when Udonis Haslem missed a long, fadeaway jumper at the buzzer. Shaquille O’Neal led the Heat with 24 points and 17 rebounds while Dwayne Wade added 17 points and six assists before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.
In other games, Dirk Nowitzki had 23 points and 14 rebounds and Josh Howard added 20 points and 10 rebounds to help the Mavericks to a 92-83 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Erick Dampier had 11 points and 11 rebounds to help the Mavericks end a three-game losing streak.
In Philadelphia, Allen Iverson scored 28 points, including a lay-up at the buzzer, and added 13 assists to give the 76ers a 116-114 overtime win over the Washington Wizards. Kyle Korver scored 26 points and Marc Jackson added 21 to give the Sixers their second win in a row.
In Atlanta, Steve Francis scored 29 points to pace the Orlando Magic to a 117-99 win over the Hawks. Rookie Dwight Howard added 29 points in the win.Antoine Walker and Tony Delk each scored 20 points for the Hawks, who dropped their fifth straight game.
In Boston, Drew Gooden scored a team-high 27 points to push the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 98-96 win over the Celtics. Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 25 points, including the game-winning basket, and LeBron James added 20 points.
In Minneapolis, Kevin Garnett had 26 points and 15 rebounds as the Timberwolves crushed the Memphis Grizzlies 115-90. Six Timberwolves scored double figures, including Latrell Sprewell, who finished with 22 points.
In Indianapolis, Austin Croshere scored a career-high 23 points and picked up 12 rebounds to give the Pacers an 82-77 win over the Charlotte Bobcats. Fred Jones also scored 23 as the Pacers won for the sixth time in their past seven games. Emeka Okafor had 19 points and 11 rebounds for Charlotte.
In Salt Lake City, Andrei Kirilenko tallied 21 points and 12 rebounds to give the Jazz a 90-80 win over the Houston Rockets. Mehmet Okur contributed 20 points to help the Jazz to their second win in the past six games. Jim Jackson led the Rockets with 18 points.
In Denver, Tim Duncan scored 23 points and picked up 13 rebounds in the San Antonio Spurs’ 89-75 win over the Nuggets.
Manu Ginobili scored 16 points to help the Spurs to their second straight win.Carmelo Anthony scored 24 points and Marcus Camby added 13 points and 11 rebounds as the Nuggets lost for the first time in five games.
In Phoenix, Shawn Marion scored a season-high 33 points and added 15 rebounds as the Suns coasted past the New Orleans Hornets 95-86. Quentin Richardson scored 21 points and Amare Stoudemire added 14 points and 14 rebounds as the Suns picked up their seventh straight win.
In Oakland, Bobby Simmons had 17 points and 12 rebounds as the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Golden State Warriors 98-87.
Ray Allen had 19 points as the SuperSonics overcame the New Jersey Nets 92-79 in Seattle.
In Los Angeles, Peja Stojakovic had 26 points and Chris Webber added 22 points and 16 rebounds to offset Kobe Bryant’s 40-points haul as the Sacramento Kings edged the Lakers 109-106.
