Detroit Pistons Smother Miami Heat

The Detroit Pistons would not be beaten again. Six weeks ago, Wade scored Miami's final seventeen points to seal a two-point win. If Wade hadn't been is such form the Pistons might well be celebrating the double over their rivals. Nevertheless an 82-73 victory must have been satisfying enough.

In contrast to previous game Wade managed just 3 of 15 from the floor. The Pistons will be relieved that they kept Wade in check - it's never good to be beaten by one man.

O'Neal returned to the team after sitting out Tuesday's loss at Minnesota and added 27 points.

Mourning tore a calf muscle though and they missed him from early in the game.
O'Neal knows he has a lot of game time to play now that his team-mate will be out injured - and admitted it would be tough.

Detroit has now won sixteen in a row at home, five short of the team record. The Pistons also clinched the outright Central Division title.

Pistons Can't Crack Nuggets

The Detroit Pistons suffered a road loss to the Denver Nuggets 98-87 last night.
Even Chauncey Billups' 27 points wasn't enough. Finishing was their biggest problem.
Detroit perhaps have a hit a mini bad streak with the start being their loss to Milwaukee last Monday.

The key for the Nuggets was that they matched Detroit defensively - a key moment in the second half was when they kept Detroit at 6 for 24 shots. The Nuggets had a 82-72 lead going into the fourth quarter (a rare position for the Pistons) - even though they had trailed at the break.