The Detroit Pistons' continuity was too much for the changing Miami Heat.
Chauncey Billups scored 30 and Richard Hamilton had 25 points and a season-high nine assists Thursday night to lead the Pistons past the new-look Heat 106-101 in a rematch of last season's Eastern Conference finals.
In their first matchup since the Pistons won at Miami in Game 7 of the series, Detroit made clutch shots and key defensive plays in the final minutes to pull away.
"We've been together so long and in so many tough situations, we never get rattled," Billups said. "Somebody is always coming up big down the stretch."
The Pistons have had the same starting five for nearly two years, a span that includes one NBA title and falling just short of a repeat, and four of their starters have been together for three long playoff runs.
They have a new coach, Flip Saunders, who has made them better offensively while maintaining their defensive prowess.
"Now, we can score points and lock up, too," Hamilton said.
Miami added players through free agency and trades in the offseason, and Pat Riley replaced Stan Van Gundy as coach earlier this month.
"That team has been together — we haven't," Heat center Alonzo Mourning said.
Detroit has won a season-high nine straight games. The Pistons are an NBA-best 24-3, with a 27-game record that trails just two teams in NBA history.
"We're chasing something bigger than Miami, or anybody else," Ben Wallace said. "We have an opportunity to do something special. We're not worried about sending messages."
Dwyane Wade had 33 points, Shaquille O'Neal scored 26 and Jason Williams chipped in with 20 points for the Heat.
"We had the game all the way, we just made a lot of silly mistakes down the stretch," O'Neal said. "You can't do that against a team like Detroit.
"They are the same as last year. They can be beat."
The Pistons, off to the best start in franchise history, have won 13 games in December for the first time and have lost only once this month.
T-wolves interested in Artest
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Kevin McHale, the Minnesota Timberwolves' vice president of basketball operations, acknowledged that the organization is talking to the Indiana Pacers about acquiring Ron Artest.
The acknowledgement came after the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported Wednesday, citing a source, that the T-wolves contacted the Pacers last week and are among 10 teams in the running for the services of the All-Star.
"A lot of people have talked to them, and we're one of the ones that have talked to them," McHale said.
Richard Hamilton scored 24, Chauncey Billups had 21 points and 13 assists, and the Detroit Pistons won their eighth straight game last night, beating the visiting Toronto Raptors, 113-106.
The Pistons improved to an N.B.A.-best 23-3, their best 26-game record in franchise history. They matched the sensational start Phoenix had last season, one victory away from the best 26-game mark in league history.
"We're just trying to win all the games we're supposed to win, and not play down to the level of the competition," Billups said.
Chris Bosh scored a career-high 37 points for the Raptors, who fell to a league-worst 6-22. Bosh was 16 of 26 from the field and had 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks.
Detroit, which never trailed, pulled away with a 21-6 run midway through the second quarter. The Pistons scored a season-high 63 points in the first half and had an 18-point lead at halftime.
Six Pistons scored in double figures, including Tayshaun Prince with 18 and Rasheed Wallace with 16.
IVERSON SPOILS ANTHONY'S NIGHT Allen Iverson scored 36 points, including the game-winner, and the visiting Philadelphia 76ers overcame Carmelo Anthony's career-high 45 to beat the Denver Nuggets, 108-106.
Chris Webber added 32 points and 15 rebounds, none bigger than the one in the final minute that set up Iverson's winning shot.
After Webber grabbed Earl Watson's miss from long range, the Sixers called a timeout with 21 seconds left. Iverson took the inbounds pass and stalled at midcourt until driving on Andre Miller, then pulling up and sinking the basket from the top of the key with 4.2 seconds remaining.
Anthony, whose previous career high was 42 on Dec. 13 at Charlotte, scored 19 points in the third quarter, including the Nuggets' last 9.
LOSS FOR ROCKETS, BABY FOR MCGRADY Mehmet Okur had 20 points and 17 rebounds, and the visiting Utah Jazz took advantage of Tracy McGrady's sudden absence to beat the Houston Rockets, 82-74.
McGrady scored 21 points in the first half, then left the arena when he learned his fiancée, Clerenda Harris, was going into labor at a local hospital. The Rockets' spokesman, Nelson Luis, said after the game that Harris gave birth to a boy, and the couple named him Laymen Lamar.
Houston's offense crumbled without McGrady; the Rockets went 12 of 42 (29 percent) and mustered an anemic 33 points in the second half.
The Jazz outscored Houston, 24-18, in the third quarter and took a 60-59 lead to the fourth. Utah then opened the final quarter with an 11-4 burst. WADE TAKES CONTROL LATE Dwyane Wade scored 14 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter to carry the host Miami Heat to a 109-98 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Shaquille O'Neal added 23 points as the Heat won for the sixth time in eight games since Pat Riley returned as coach on Dec. 12. Jason Williams had 18 points, including 9 during a 19-9 run in the opening six minutes of the second half.
The Bucks cut the Heat's lead to 85-81 on Bobby Simmons's 3-pointer with 9:14 remaining in the fourth, but Wade led a 13-3 spurt with 8 points in the next 3:23.
GINóBILI RETURNS WITH FLOURISH In San Antonio, Tony Parker scored 27 points, Manu Ginóbili sparked the decisive run in his return from an injury, and the Spurs pulled away to beat the Indiana Pacers, 99-86.
The Pacers led, 60-57, midway through the third quarter before the Spurs took control with a 16-3 run.
Ginóbili, who missed eight games with a sprained right foot, made a free throw and a layup to start the run. The Spurs held Indiana without a basket for more than four and a half minutes beginning late in the third.
Ginóbili had 9 points in 15 minutes. Tim Duncan scored 26 points but no other Spurs were in double figures.
BOBCATS IMPROVING ON ROAD Primoz Brezec made the go-ahead basket with 14 seconds remaining as the Charlotte Bobcats won their third consecutive road game, 93-90 in Atlanta.
The Bobcats improved to 4-11 on the road after winning their third consecutive road game. They are three of four over all. Kareem Rush and Emeka Okafor, two of the Bobcats' top three scorers, have missed the last three games with injuries.
AROUND THE LEAGUE Bucks point guard T. J. Ford left 4:41 into last night's game against the Heat. He sustained a sprained left foot after he was fouled hard by James Posey. ... Morris Peterson played his 417th game with the Raptors, tying Alvin Williams's franchise record.
