Center gets 17 points, nine rebounds
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Hassan Whiteside used his good hand to push the Miami Heat closer to a most unlikely playoff berth Tuesday night.
Whiteside tipped in a shot with his left hand as time expired to lift the Heat over the Detroit Pistons 97-96.
Whiteside, playing with a thick bandage on his right hand to protect 13 stitches he got a week ago, tipped in Goran Dragic’s miss after a wild final play over the game’s final 11.3 seconds. James Johnson took the initial shot for Miami, Dragic muscled the rebound off the rim and Whiteside elevated over Andre Drummond for the winning tip.
“I was like, ‘ Whatever happens, I’m going to chase this rebound,’” Whiteside said. “I just tried to get a hand on it anyway I could.”
The win was huge for Miami (3638), which moved one game ahead of No. 9 Chicago and 2 1/2 games ahead of No. 10 Detroit for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
“Our guys want this so bad,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Dragic scored 28 points and Whiteside finished with 17 points and nine rebounds for the Heat.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 25 points and Tobias Harris and Ish Smith each scored 19 for the Pistons (34-41). Detroit lost its fifth straight and eighth in nine games.
“That one hurts,” Smith said. “It was a fun game to be a part of. Somebody had to lose it. I was hoping it wasn’t going to be us, but it was. Kudos to them. They played hard. They played really hard.”
Miami wasted a 12-point second half lead and was up 78-69 going into the fourth quarter. Detroit’s fourpoint lead in the final minute was the biggest edge the Pistons enjoyed all night, before the Heat scored the game’s final five points.
■ Warriors 113, Rockets 106 — At Houston, Stephen Curry scored 32 ROUNDUP points, Klay Thompson had 25 and Golden State won its eighth straight. The win was Warriors’ coach Steve Kerr’s 200th, making him the fastest coach to achieve that milestone in all four major pro sports.
■ Trail Blazers 122, Nuggets 113 — At Portland, Ore., Jusuf Nurkic had a career-high 32 points with 16 rebounds against his former team, CJ McCollum had 39 points and Portland beat Denver to take hold of the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
■ Bucks 118, Hornets 108 — At Charlotte, N.C., Tony Snell scored a season-high 26 points, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 20 points and eight rebounds and Milwaukee won for the 12th time in 15 games.
■ Hawks 95, Suns 91 — At Atlanta, Dennis Schroder hit consecutive 3-pointers to spark a 17-1 run that helped the Hawks snap a seven-game losing streak. Phoenix lost its ninth in a row in a matchup of teams with the two longest active losing streaks in the NBA.
■ Timberwolves 115, Pacers 114 — At Indianapolis, Ricky Rubio made three free throws with 3.4 seconds left to help Minnesota snapped a season-high six-game losing streak. Karl-Anthony Towns had 37 points and 12 rebounds for the Timberwolves.
■ 76ers 106, Nets 101 — At New York, Dario Saric scored 23 points, Robert Covington had 21 points and 13 rebounds and Philadelphia won on a night where it only dressed nine players. Brook Lopez led the Nets with 26 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
■ Wizards 119, Lakers 108 — At Los Angeles, John Wall had 34 points and 14 assists and Washington won its fourth straight to clinch the Southeast Division title. The division crown is the franchise’s first in 38 years.