Heat at Pistons
THE STORY: Despite sitting three games out of the top spot in the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat still have a solid chance of catching Chicago for the No. 1 seed, having played four fewer games than the Bulls. Having lost four of five away from home, the Heat are at a pivotal point in the season as they prepare to open a three-game road trip at the Detroit Pistons on Friday night. Miami has beaten Detroit five straight times.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, SunSports, FSD
ABOUT THE HEAT (34-11): Miami used a late 17-0 run to beat Phoenix on Tuesday and improve its league-best home record to 20-2. The Heat were dealt a big scare when LeBron James was involved in a jarring collision with Suns forward Grant Hill in the final seconds. James was still dealing with elbow and neck soreness Thursday but said he will play Friday. Chris Bosh has come alive offensively in the past two games, averaging 26 points on 21-of-29 shooting.
ABOUT THE PISTONS (16-30): Ben Gordon made his first start in two months a memorable one, pouring in 45 points and hitting all nine 3-point attempts in a one-point loss at Denver on Wednesday. Starting in place of an injured Rodney Stuckey (questionable, Friday), Gordon tied his own league record that he shares with Latrell Sprewell for most 3-pointers in a game without a miss. In his previous nine games, Gordon had connected on only two of 17 attempts from behind the arc.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Dating to his days with Cleveland, James has a personal 16-game winning streak against the Pistons.
2. Pistons G Brandon Knight leads NBA rookies with 69 3-pointers. He needs one more to eclipse Lindsay Hunter's franchise rookie record.
3. Miami signed veteran C Ronny Turiaf on Wednesday. He hasn't played since breaking his hand in the fourth game of the season with Washington.