(The Sports Xchange) – The Detroit Pistons have had their best long distance shooting performances against the Miami Heat so far this season.
The Pistons made 15 3-pointers Tuesday night and erased an early 18-point deficit in a 93-92 victory over the Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena.
The outcome ironically came down to a pair of jumpers that the Heat missed.
Heat guard Dwyane Wade had a chance to give the Heat (16-11) the lead in the closing seconds, but missed a pull-up jumper that was rebounded by Pistons forward Andre Drummond with 1.9 seconds left.Drummond left the door open for Miami, however, when he missed two subsequent free throws.
But Heat forward Chris Bosh missed on an open look with a foot on the 3-point line at the buzzer as the shot bounced off the rim. A replay later showed that the shot would not have counted as time expired with the ball still on Bosh’s hand.
Detroit (17-12) made a season-high 16 3-pointers in its first game against the Heat on Nov. 25 which resulted in a 104-81 victory. On Tuesday, the Pistons won their fifth game in their past six, largely by making seven triples in the second quarter as they outscored the Heat 36-18 following a 34-18 first quarter in favor of the Heat. After suffering its worst defeat of the season the last time it faced the Pistons, the Heat put an emphasis on starting strong. The Pistons entered the game shooting only 32.7 percent from 3-point range, but shot 15 of 29 (51.7 percent) after shooting 16 of 31 (51.6 percent) in their first meeting. Detroit made 10 3-pointers in the first half as guards Stanley Johnson and Miami-native Steve Blake each hit four. Guard Reggie Jackson led the Pistons with 18 points. Guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit a 3 with 2:01 left in fourth to give the Pistons the lead and finished with 14 points. Johnson also finished with 14 points and Blake had 12. Drummond scored 11 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.Bosh finished with 20 points and Wade had 19. Heat center Hassan Whiteside finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds. But contrary to the Pistons’ red-hot long-range shooting, Miami shot only four of 18 from 3-point range (22.2 percent).
