Heat 91 Pistons 72AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- It was understood, that with Detroit's Grant Hill out with a broken ankle, one of the reserves would have to step up. And that's exactly what happened -- but not for Hill's team.
Clarence Weatherspoon scored seven of his 18 points in the third quarter as the Miami Heat built an 18-point lead and went on to beat Detroit 91-72, sweeping the Pistons in their best-of-five first-round series.
The Heat will meet the winner of the New York Knicks-Toronto Raptors series in an Eastern Conference second-round matchup.
Jamal Mashburn and Alonzo Mourning, each of whom scored over 20 points in the first two games, finished with 11 and 12 points, respectively. Mourning only played 22 minutes for the Heat, who had five players in double figures.
Jerry Stackhouse tried his best to carry the Pistons, who haven't won a playoff series since 1991. He scored 25 points, but the rest of the Detroit offense, which averaged 103.5 points per game during the regular season, just couldn't seem to function without Hill.
Michael Curry scored 14 points starting in place of Hill, who broke his left ankle in the second game. He was the only other Detroit player in double figures.
Miami led by five at the half and put the game away with a punishing defense and timely scoring in the third quarter.
A basket by Stackhouse pulled Detroit to within 62-52 with 2:38 left in the third, but the Pistons went scoreless the remainder of the quarter. Weatherspoon, meanwhile, had two baskets as the Heat closed out the quarter with an 8-0 run, taking a 70-52 lead into the fourth quarter.
This was the first win at The Palace for the Heat, who had lost twice on the Pistons' court during the regular season.
One-sided scoring runs by each side dominated the sloppy first half.
Stackhouse had four points in a 10-0 burst that gave Detroit a 17-15 lead. But the Pistons went 6:33 without scoring at all after two free throws by Mikki Moore gave the Pistons a 22-18 lead which they took into the second quarter.
With Weatherspoon scoring five points, the Heat ran off 15 straight points for a 33-22 lead in the second quarter.
The Pistons came back with a 13-1 run to lead 37-36 on Jud Buechler's 3-pointer with 1:30 left in the second, but Miami closed out the half with six unanswered points for a 42-37 halftime lead.