Heat at Pistons
The Miami Heat squandered a big opportunity at Indiana on Wednesday and are running out of time to fix their road woes. The Heat will attempt to snap a three-game road slide when they visit the Detroit Pistons on Friday. Miami came up just short against the Pacers, falling three games behind in the race for the top spot in the Eastern Conference when Chris Bosh’s final heave missed the mark in an 84-83 setback.
The Heat have lost eight of their last 13 games, including six of seven away from home. LeBron James did his part with 38 points Wednesday but got little help in the physical battle with the Pacers. Detroit has the personnel to play a physical game but is having a hard time finishing teams off. The Pistons squandered a 16-point fourth-quarter lead and were outscored 10-0 in the final three minutes of a 97-96 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, their 16th loss in the last 20 games.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Sun Sports (Miami), FSN Detroit
ABOUT THE HEAT (48-22): Dwyane Wade left Wednesday’s game in the final minutes with cramping in his left hamstring and Bosh finished with just eight points, leaving James to do most of the damage offensively. “I think we need to look at our (offensive) sets,” Bosh told ESPN.com. “We had so many empty possessions where we just didn’t even get any movement, anything we wanted. We were looking for the wrong things.” Miami is averaging 91.6 points in its last five games and it is in the middle of a three-game road trip before finishing out the regular season with seven of the last 10 at home.
ABOUT THE PISTONS (26-45): Detroit lost on a last-second shot Wednesday, failing to secure back-to-back victories for the first time since a three-game streak from Feb. 7-10. “They played their hearts out,” Pistons coach John Loyer told reporters. “You’re a shot away from winning the game. But you do have to think about all of the little things whether it’s a missed free throw, whether it’s a missed block out. It goes more than just the last play when you lose a tight game.” The Pistons can take some comfort in a defensive effort that has held three of the last four opponents under 100 points after 13 of the previous 15 had hit the century mark.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Heat have taken 16 of the last 19 in the series, including a 110-95 win in Detroit on Dec. 8.
2. Pistons F Josh Smith is 7-for-26 from the free-throw line in the last seven games.
3. Wade (hamstring) and Miami G Ray Allen (illness) are both questionable.