NBA Game Summary - Detroit at Miami

Miami, FL (Basketball News) - Rasheed Wallace returned from his one-game suspension to score 20 points and Tayshaun Prince also poured in 20 points, as Detroit defeated Miami, 95-82, in a heavyweight Eastern Conference battle at American Airlines Arena.

Wallace also added eight rebounds in his first game since serving a one-game suspension for picking up his 16th technical foul of the season. Richard Hamilton tallied 19 points and Chauncey Billups added 14, as Detroit won its sixth straight game. Tony Delk added 12 points off the bench in the victory.

Dwyane Wade led all scorers with 29 points while also grabbing nine rebounds and dishing out six assists. Shaquille O’Neal added 28 points and seven boards, but the duo received very little help.

The Heat now sit just 2 1/2 games ahead of the streaking New Jersey Nets for the second playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. New Jersey won its 14th straight game on Thursday, defeating Charlotte, 113-102.

Two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference slugged it out over the game’s first 24 minutes. Wade tallied 18 first-half points while O’Neal added 14, as the tandem combined for 32 of the team’s 41 points. Detroit used a physical defense and a welcomed 10 points off the bench from Delk to hold a slim 42-41 lead at the half.

The Pistons continued to play stifling defense in the third stanza. After O’Neal converted a slam with 6:49 to play, Detroit reeled off nine straight points to take a double-digit lead.

Hamilton started the surge with a pull-up jumper and Billups capped it with a long-distance jumper at the 3:41 mark to make the score 61-51.

Miami tallied the next six points, but Detroit’s defense clamped down every time the Heat attempted to pull closer. Three straight free throws by Wallace closed the third-quarter scoring, pushing the advantage to 70-61.

The Heat didn’t go away, cutting the deficit to 81-79 on O’Neal’s slam with 4:04 left to play. Miami scored only one field goal, another O’Neal slam, the rest of the way.

The Pistons used a 10-1 burst to put the game out of reach. Wallace drained a three and Billups, Hamilton and Prince connected on jumpers during the stretch. Wade’s free throw was Miami’s only point for over three minutes, and Prince’s jumper gave Detroit a 91-80 edge.