AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Derrick Rose scored 22 points, and Joakim Noah added 15 points and 21 rebounds to help the Chicago Bulls hand the Detroit Pistons their ninth straight loss, 98-87 on Thursday.
Chicago hadn't won a road game in six weeks, but never trailed against the slumping Pistons (11-21), who are been 10 games under .500 for the first time since the 2000-01 season. The Bulls (13-17) snapped an eight-game losing streak away from home.
Tyrus Thomas added 19 points for Chicago, and John Salmons had 17.
Rodney Stuckey led the Pistons with 22 points, and Ben Gordon had 21 against his former team. Stuckey twisted his left ankle twice in the first half.
SPURS 108, HEAT 78: At San Antonio, Tim Duncan had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and San Antonio beat a winning team for the first time in a month. Manu Ginobili added 18 points for the Spurs, who have won 10 of 12. But the Heat are the only winning team among those victories, a fact not lost on Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. Before the game, Popovich said he's been "not quite as impressed" as the streak may suggest since the Spurs have only been dominant against weaker competition. Nonetheless, San Antonio won its fourth straight. Miami, meanwhile, was dealt its most humiliating loss this season. Michael Beasley scored 26, and Dwyane Wade had 16 before watching the blowout from the bench in the fourth.
ROCKETS 97, MAVERICKS 94: At Houston, Aaron Brooks scored 30 points, Shane Battier made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 2:11 left, and Houston beat Dallas. Brooks followed Battier's 3 with one of his own for a six-point lead with 1:35 remaining, and the Rockets held on when Jason Kidd missed a potential tying shot from behind the arc in the final second. Jason Terry led a strong bench performance by Dallas with 20 points. Josh Howard had 16 points and Drew Gooden added 10 points off the bench. Shawn Marion had 16 points and Kidd scored 14 for the Mavs, but Dirk Nowitzki sat out much of the first half with three fouls, and finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.
CLIPPERS 104, 76ERS 88: At Los Angeles, Chris Kaman had 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Philadelphia 76ers 104-88 on Thursday night in the NBA's final game of the decade.
Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy missed the game after aggravating a herniated disc in his back while at home getting ready to go to Staples Center. Tony Brown, an assistant coach under Dunleavy in Portland and Los Angeles, ran the team in his place.
All the Clippers' starters scored in double figures, with Baron Davis contributing 20 points and seven assists. Marcus Camby added 14 points and 10 boards. The Clippers completed a season sweep of the 76ers after losing both meetings in each of the previous two seasons.