O’Neal sits out 80-72 defeat

Pistons take advantage of big man's stomach flu

? Shaquille O’Neal was on the bench in a suit, still recovering from a nasty stomach virus.

Dwyane Wade played his worst game of the season.

And the Detroit Pistons happily took advantage of the Miami Heat’s lack of star power.

Richard Hamilton scored 17 points, Tayshaun Price added 16, and the Pistons stymied Miami for three quarters, then saw a 20-point lead trimmed to four down the stretch before holding on to win, 80-72, Sunday and end the Heat’s franchise-record 18-game home winning streak.

With O’Neal out for a third straight game and Wade unable to get anything started, the Heat set season-lows for scoring in a game, half and quarter, established another low by shooting 34.6 percent and have lost two straight for just the fourth time all season.

“Anytime you win at 1 o’clock on a Sunday in Miami, it’s a tough game to win,” said Pistons coach Larry Brown, whose team has won six straight. “They never gave up. I hope we are fortunate to play them in another series. It would be a great matchup.”

The victory moved Detroit within one game of clinching the Central Division title. Barring a total collapse, the Pistons will be seeded No. 2 behind Miami in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Eddie Jones had 19 points for Miami, which hurt itself by shooting 14-for-26 from the foul line. Wade had only five points on 1-for-6 shooting before fouling out with 4:13 left, ending his streak of 51 consecutive games in double figures.

“We went at him with five. We didn’t have just one guy guarding him,” Hamilton said. “We did key on him and did a good job with that.”

Wade’s streak started after he went scoreless in 18 minutes before leaving a game against Washington with an ankle injury. He scored at least 11 points every other game this season.

“He played 21 minutes and had a bad night on top of that,” Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said. “This team wasn’t really built to play without both of those guys.”

Knicks guard Stephon Marbury, right, hoists a shot over Indiana's Jeff Foster in the closing seconds of overtime. Marbury missed the shot, but it was tipped in by Michael Sweetney, left, to give the Knicks a 113-112 victory.

Kings 124, Lakers 105

Sacramento, Calif. — Kenny Thomas had a career-high 32 points and 14 rebounds for Sacramento.

Mike Bibby had 24 points and eight assists for the Kings, who blew out their biggest rival with 68 points in the second half. Sacramento outrebounded the Lakers 62-32 and made 51 percent of its shots while scoring at least 118 points for the fifth time in seven games.

The Kings clinched their seventh straight playoff berth under coach Rick Adelman with a victory Friday at Portland. Kobe Bryant, playing with his bruised right shin heavily wrapped, scored 18 points and endured constant razzing in the Lakers’ 11th loss in 12 games.

Knicks 113, Pacers 112, OT

Indianapolis — Michael Sweetney scored a career-high 20 points. The Pacers were ahead 112-106 with a minute left after a driving layup by Reggie Miller, who scored 34 points.

But Sweetney scored a basket and free throw to pull the Knicks within three points. Jerome Williams then stole the ball from Stephen Jackson, and Stephon Marbury hit a layup to cut the lead to one with 31 seconds to go. Marbury, who had 19 assists, missed a free throw that would have tied the game. But New York got the ball back. After a timeout, Marbury drove into the lane and missed, but Sweetney was there for the rebound and put the ball back up for the winning basket.

Blazers 90, Hornets 81

New Orleans — Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and the Trail Blazers snapped three losing streaks — seven games overall, 10 in a row on the road and four straight against New Orleans.

It also was just the third victory for former Kansas University player Kevin Pritchard, who took over as Portland’s interim coach on March 2.

Damon Stoudamire, who scored 84 points in Portland’s two earlier losses to New Orleans, finished with 19, Ruben Patterson had 16, and Travis Outlaw scored 13.

Grizzlies 102, Bobcats 95

Memphis — Shane Battier had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Mike Miller added 21 points to help the Grizzlies increase their lead to 41/2 games for the eighth and last playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Pau Gasol had 16 points for the Grizzlies, and Lorenzen Wright added 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Spurs 136, Warriors 134, 2 OT

Oakland, Calif. — Tony Parker made a sprawling layup with 2.9 seconds left to cap his career-high 35 points. Parker also had 12 assists while winning a duel with Baron Davis, who had 38 points, nine assists and two last-second shots to force both overtimes. Playing without ailing starters Manu Ginobili, Rasho Nesterovic and Tim Duncan, the Spurs still hung on for their fourth victory in five games.