LOS ANGELES, 21 December 2005 — It took three tries before “Big Shot” hit the big shot.
Chauncey Billups buried a 15-foot jumper with three-tenths of a second left in the second overtime, lifting the visiting Detroit Pistons to a thrilling 106-104 road victory over the scrappy Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night Billups had missed potential game-winning 3-pointer in the closing seconds of regulation, and a driving lay-up in the first overtime session, before the smooth stroking guard settled the exciting contest. The Grizzlies had grabbed a short-lived 104-103 lead on Damon Stoudemire’s 3-pointer from the top of the key with 4.6 seconds left, again setting the stage for Billups heroics. This time he delivered.
After taking an inbounds pass, he dribbled twice to his left, and launched a step-back jumper over Stoudemire, who stumbled as the ball swished through the basket. Tayshaun Prince scored 23 points and Richard Hamilton added 19 for Detroit, which improved to a league-best 19-3.
Celtics 109 Warriors 98: Ricky Davis scored 21 points, and Paul Pierce had 19 along with nine rebounds, helping the Celtics bounce back from its worst loss of the season to trim the visiting Warriors. Mark Blount netted 17 points and Marcus Banks chipped in with 16 for Boston, which rebounded from a 32-point thrashing by Chicago on Saturday night.
Raptors 92 Magic 90: Mike James hit the go-ahead three-pointer, and Morris Peterson knocked down the game-sealing triple with eight seconds left, helping the lowly Raptors snapped a three-game slide. Peterson scored 19 points, while Chris Bosh collected 19 and 12 rebounds as Toronto gained a rare victory in its league-worst 5-20 record.
Bobcats 106 Kings 103 (OT): Primoz Brezec scored five of his 26 points in overtime, to lead the Bobcats past the visiting Kings in what could turn out to be a costly victory. Charlotte lost star forward Emeka Okafor to a right ankle sprain in the third quarter, after Kareem Rush left, after suffering a strained left index finger midway through the opening period.
Sonics 111 Wizards 101: Rashard Lewis scored eight of his 30 points in the final three minutes, and Ray Allen added 24, helping the SuperSonics snap a four-game home skid. Gilbert Arenas erupted for 27 of his 30 points in the second half for Washington, which routed Seattle 137-96 in its first meeting.
