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Friday, Mar. 2 8:00pm ET
Jones has hot hand in Heat's comeback win

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AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) – Chucky Atkins should have been enjoying the best night of his NBA career. Instead, he was wondering how he went from hero to goat with one bad decision.

Atkins scored a career-high 36 points, but his ill-advised alley-oop pass in the final 90 seconds helped the Miami Heat pull out a comeback 97-93 win over Atkins and the Detroit Pistons.

Detroit led 84-77 when Atkins stole the ball from Tim Hardaway and started a fast break. Instead of settling the play down, Atkins threw a lob pass that Jerry Stackhouse couldn't handle.

Eddie Jones then scored eight points in the final 1:23, sending the game to overtime, and Miami went on to win in the extra session.

"It's tough, because I made the mistake that cost us the game," said Atkins. "I made the steal, and I had a chance to slow it down and make sure we got a good shot, and instead I threw the ball away. It was just careless."

Detroit led by 14, 76-62, with less than eight minutes to play, but couldn't hold the lead.

"We gave an sensational effort for most of the game, but we made too many mistakes down the stretch," said Pistons coach George Irvine. "A fast-break lob in that situation is a ridiculous play. If we make a smart play there, we win the game."

With Stackhouse suffering through a 4-for-21 shooting night, the Heat knew what they had to do in overtime.

"We wanted to play defense and make sure Chucky didn't get back into his rhythm," Hardaway said. "He was the only one making shots."

Neither team scored in the first 90 seconds of overtime, then Billy Owens and Dan Majerle traded jumpers.

After two free throws by Stackhouse, Majerle's 3-pointer gave Miami its first lead of the game, 90-89. Atkins put Detroit back in front with a jumper, but Anthony Mason answered with a three-point play to make it 93-91.

Stackhouse's shot was blocked by Mason and Tim Hardaway hit a jumper to move the margin to four with 24 seconds to play.

"We were doing everything possible to get absolutely blown out of that game," Miami coach Pat Riley said. "But we had about a four- or five-minute stretch of good defense that got us back into the game, and then we hit some big shots to win it."

Hardaway had 17 points for Miami, while Mason added 14 points and 18 rebounds.

Stackhouse had 21 for Detroit, while Ben Wallace had 20 rebounds.

"This was one more game that we had won and let get away in the fourth quarter," Stackhouse said about the Pistons' fourth loss in a row. "Everyone knows we had this game won, and we let it get away."

Atkins started his run early in the third, scoring 10 points in a 12-3 run that gave Detroit a 57-46 lead late in the period. Atkins and Stackhouse scored Detroit's first 17 points of the quarter.

Atkins finished with 15 in the quarter, and Detroit led by as many as 17 before the Heat pulled to 68-54 at period's end.

After Anthony Mason missed two free throws with eight minutes left, Atkins hit his third 3-pointer of the game, increasing the Pistons' lead to 76-62.

Miami then went on a 7-0 run to get within seven, and only Atkins kept them at bay. His layup with 2:46 to go moved Detroit's lead back to two possessions, 81-76, and after a Mason free throw, Atkins appeared to put the game away with yet another 3.

But two 3-pointers by Jones made the lead just 85-83, and when Atkins missed, Hardaway missed a 3-pointer but Jones got the rebound and was fouled by Stackhouse.

He made both free throws, tying the game with 11 seconds to go.

Detroit had two shots to win the game, but Joe Smith and Owens both missed jumpers.

"I saw we were down 14 in the fourth quarter, and I knew we had to just do whatever it took to get back in the game," Jones said. "The guys got me the ball, and I was just shooting it. I felt good, and if the shot was open, I was just going to take it."

Game notes
Detroit's Corliss Williamson missed the game with the flu. ... Detroit guard Dana Barros left the game in the first half with a sore left knee and did not return. ... Detroit got a scare when referee Blaine Reichelt inadvertantly hit Jerry Stackhouse in the nose solidly with his elbow. Stackhouse had to check his nose for blood, but stayed in the game. ... The win extended Miami's winning streak over Detroit to six games, including a three-game sweep in last season's playoffs. ... Atkins' previous high of 26 points was set on Dec. 30, also in an overtime loss to Miami at the Palace.

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