Miami Heat uses fourth quarter burst to oust Pistons

Miami Heat scores comeback win over Detroit Pistons

The Miami Heat trailed the hometown Detroit Pistons by 11 points late in the third period before staging a furious comeback in the final quarter to win the game 100-94.

Using a 15-0 burst to start the fourth quarter, the Miami Heat led 88-81 and held on for the win. The Pistons were down by just four with less than a minute left but Greg Monroe fumbled a layup which could have brought down the Heat's lead to two. The Pistons had to foul to stop the clock but the Heat iced the game with their free throw shots.

LeBron James led Miami with 19 points, eight rebounds and seven dimes. The other two members of the so-called "Big Three" were equally productive on Wednesday night, with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh scoring 24 and 23 points respectively. Bosh was 11 of 12 from the free throw line. Mike Miller added 13 points for the Miami Heat.

The Pistons failed to close out the game and let Miami execute their stifling defense and potent offense down the stretch. Detroit was led by Richard Hamilton who scored 27 points. Greg Monroe added 14 points and 12 boards, while Tayshaun Prince chipped in 13 points. Detroit was without Ben Wallace who was out with a knee injury. The Pistons used its 20th different starting five this season.

James was 8 of 16, Wade 7 of 13 and Bosh 6 of 11 from the field for the night. They are a perfect 13-0 when the "Big Three" each makes half of their shots from the field. On Friday night at the American Airlines Arena, the Philadelphia 76ers will try to solidify their playoff chances as they face the Miami Heat.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Thursday March 24 2011, 11:19 AM EDT. Ref: AP. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0