Pistons’ Victory a Real Long Shot

Terry Mills’ three-point basket at the buzzer in overtime Thursday ended a miserable day for the Atlanta Hawks.

Mills’ shot gave Detroit a 106-105 victory at Detroit, as the Hawks lost one they should have won on a day forward Isaiah Rider was suspended by the team.

Jerry Stackhouse scored 33 points, including a three-point basket with eight seconds left that sent the game to overtime, and Grant Hill just missed a triple-double with 25 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds for the Pistons.

“This is a really tough loss to take,� Atlanta center Dikembe Mutombo said. “We had it won twice, and we let it get away both times. It’s worse because we really came out and played as a team tonight. If we keep playing like this, we’ll win some games.�

Mills took a pass from Hill on the right baseline and swished a high-arcing jumper as the buzzer sounded.

“That was exactly the play we designed--it worked to perfection,� Mills said. “We haven’t had too many wins like that one. We always seem to find a way to lose these games.�

Detroit’s victory was the Pistons’ third in a row and moved them back over the .500 mark at 15-14.

Milwaukee 91, Cleveland 90--Tim Thomas sank two free throws with 13.6 seconds left to cap a game-ending 17-5 run that gave the Bucks a victory over the Cavaliers at Milwaukee.

Sam Cassell led Milwaukee with 20 points, 10 coming on free throws. Glenn Robinson added 17 points, 16 in the first half.

Trailing, 90-89, Milwaukee’s Ray Allen tied up Cleveland’s Cedric Henderson for a jump ball with 17 seconds to play. The Bucks tipped the ball to Thomas, who drove to the basket and was fouled.

After the free throws, Bob Sura drove the lane but missed a one-handed scoop shot.

Minnesota 94, Chicago 76--Kevin Garnett had 22 points and 11 rebounds and the Timberwolves never trailed in defeating the Bulls at Minneapolis.

Garnett made nine of 11 shots and recorded his 19th double-double of the season. All five Minnesota starters scored in double figures as the Timberwolves won for the sixth time in seven games.

Chicago lost its 10th consecutive game and remained winless on the road and against teams from the Western Conference. It was the fewest points scored against Minnesota this season.

Sam Mitchell scored 10 of his 12 points in the first quarter for the Timberwolves, who built an 8-0 lead and led 32-19 after one quarter by shooting 68%.

Toronto 109, Dallas 104--Tracy McGrady scored 24 points and Vince Carter had 22 as the duo put on a dunking display at Dallas in the Raptors’ victory over the Mavericks.

Antonio Davis provided 19 points, 15 rebounds and strong interior defense to help the Raptors win their third game in a row and fourth out of five. Charles Oakley and Doug Christie each added 14 points for Toronto.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 32 points and Cedric Ceballos had 26 for the Mavericks, who have lost three in a row and seven of eight. Dallas has dropped its last five at home.

New Jersey 102, Orlando 92--Stephon Marbury had 21 points and 13 assists and the Nets scored the last 10 points to win their ninth consecutive home game.

The victory was also the fourth consecutive overall for the Nets and their 10th in the last 13 games. The nine consecutive home victories broke the single-season mark of eight set in 1993-94 and tied the team record of nine, spanning the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons.

Orlando dropped its third in a row.

Indiana 109, Charlotte 99--Reggie Miller scored 30 points and fueled a 27-4 run with four three-point baskets as the Pacers defeated the Hornets at Indianapolis in a matchup of the top two teams in the Central Division.

The Pacers moved two games ahead of Charlotte in the division as they won their ninth consecutive home game and their fifth consecutive overall.

Indiana trailed, 43-33, with seven minutes left in the second quarter, but Miller than sank two of his three-point basket as Indiana put together a 17-4 surge to close the half. Miller made nine of 10 shots in the second and third quarters.

New York 89, Washington 86--For the second consecutive night, a shot at the buzzer failed to win it for the Wizards.

Chris Whitney threw up an airball with 1.4 seconds left as the Knicks won at Washington to end a two-game losing streak.

Larry Johnson matched a season high with 24 points for the Knicks.

Johnson was hot early and late, getting 12 points on five-of-six shooting in the first quarter and seven points on two-of-three shooting in the fourth.

Boston 102, Denver 94--Antoine Walker scored 26 points and Paul Pierce added 21 as the Celtics ended an 11-game road losing streak with a victory over the Nuggets.

The Celtics, taking advantage of poor shooting by the Nuggets, especially from the free-throw line, won for only the second time in their last 10 games.

The Nuggets made only 39% of their shots on 30-of-77 shooting and made only 31 of 47 free throws.

San Antonio 98, Vancouver 88--Tim Duncan scored 32 points, leading the Spurs in scoring for the 23rd time this season, to spark the Spurs to a victory over the Grizzlies at Vancouver.

The Spurs defeated the Grizzlies for the ninth consecutive time and also won consecutive road games for the first time since Dec. 2.

Duncan, who scored a career-high 42 points in the Spurs’ 99-91 victory over Vancouver earlier this month, has now recorded double-doubles in all but three games this season.

Portland 108, Philadelphia 90--Rasheed Wallace had 23 points and 11 rebounds and the Trail Blazers blew an early 25-point lead before pulling away to defeat the 76ers at Portland, Ore.

Steve Smith added 20 points, Bonzi Wells had a career-high 16 and Scottie Pippen scored 13 for the Trail Blazers, who won their fourth consecutive game.

Allen Iverson scored 32 points for the 76ers, raising his league-leading average to 29.9 a game. Coach Larry Brown, one night after getting his 700th victory, was ejected at halftime.