NBA ROUNDUP : Thomas, Pistons Can’t Stand Heat in 88-84 Loss

Now that the Miami Heat is used to playing against stars, Kevin Edwards said it’s easier to win against them.

The Heat proved Edwards’ point Saturday night at Miami with a landmark victory for the second-year franchise, 88-84 over the NBA champion Detroit Pistons.

“We had a lot of rookies last year and we were kind of star-struck by other teams,” Edwards said. “This year they’re just basketball players. You see a superstar just about every night, so you can’t think about that while you’re playing.”

Miami overcame an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter, and Edwards scored nine of the Heat’s final 14 points,

Edwards hit two free throws to give Miami an 86-84 lead with 40 seconds left. After Isiah Thomas missed two driving shots and James Edwards missed two free throws for Detroit, the Heat’s Grant Long clinched the victory with two free throws with less than one second left.

The Pistons return home after a 2-3 road trip.

Edwards and Rony Seikaly scored 21 points each to lead the Heat, whose first home victory of the season came six weeks earlier than last season.

Thomas led the Pistons with 19 points.

Cleveland 104, Boston 101--Mark Price returned from a sprained foot and scored 19 points, including three three-pointers, as the Cavaliers won their first game.

Price was one of three starters missing from the Cavaliers’ first four game.

Craig Ehlo also scored 19 points and had three three-pointers at Richfield, Ohio.

Showing few ill effects from the sprained right foot, Price scored 10 first-half points as Cleveland overcame an early 11-point deficit.

Robert Parish led the Celtics with 31 points.

Atlanta 148, Orlando 109--Moses Malone scored 28 points and led eight players in double figures as the Hawks won their first game of the season in record-setting fashion. Atlanta’s 148 points were the most ever for the Hawks at The Omni in Atlanta. The team’s overall scoring record is 155 points, against San Diego in 1970 and New York in 1960.

The Hawks got their first victory after three consecutive losses as Orlando made only three of its first 19 shots. Atlanta held a 42-18 lead at the end of the first quarter.

San Antonio 122, Denver 108--David Robinson scored 15 of his 28 points in the third quarter and finished with 11 rebounds, leading the Spurs at San Antonio.

After the Spurs led, 60-57, at the half, Robinson helped extend the margin to 94-80 after three quarters. The center, in his first season after spending two years in the Navy, dazzled the crowd of 15,198 when he scored nine of the last 10 points for the Spurs in the third quarter.

Terry Cummings added 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs. Lafayette Lever led the Nuggets with 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Walter Davis scored 21 points.

Houston 100, Utah 92--Akeem Olajuwon had 24 points, 21 rebounds and a career-high 12 blocked shots to lead the Rockets at Houston.

Houston took its first lead since the second quarter when Olajuwon made two free throws with 4:01 left. A free throw by Karl Malone tied the score, 86-86, with 2:40 left before a basket by Buck Johnson and two free throws by Otis Thorpe gave Houston a 90-86 lead.

Philadelphia 104, Milwaukee 96--The 76ers, coming off a loss to the expansion Minnesota Timberwolves 24 hours earlier, got 23 points from Charles Barkley and 20 from Hersey Hawkins to beat the Bucks at Milwaukee.

With 5:20 left in the game, the Bucks pulled to within 92-88 on a basket by Jay Humphries. Barkley countered with a free throw and a three-point play that gave the 76ers a 96-88 lead with 4:10 left.

Chicago 109, Seattle 102--Michael Jordan scored 25 points and Horace Grant added 23, leading the Bulls at Chicago.

The Bulls trailed, 79-74, after a three-point play by Michael Cage late in the third quarter. But Chicago went ahead for good, 80-79, on Craig Hodges’ five-footer with 2:58 left.

Dale Ellis had 30 points for Seattle.

Golden State 115, Charlotte 104--Chris Mullin scored 34 points and Mitch Richmond 28 as the Warriors defeated the winless Hornets at Oakland.

The Warriors outrebounded the Hornets, 42-28, the first time this season Golden State has outrebounded its opposition. In their previous four games, the Warriors had 14.3 fewer rebounds per game than their opponents.

Charlotte was led by Rex Chapman with 23 points, and Dell Curry came off the bench for 21, including three three-pointers in the third quarter.