Mavericks cool off Pistons at Detroit

In a matchup of the teams with the best records in the Eastern and Western conferences, Dirk Nowitzki scored 28 points to help the visiting Dallas Mavericks beat the Detroit Pistons, 92-88, Sunday.

Ronald Murray scored 18 points for Detroit, coming off its first 5-0 Western trip in 15 years.

Detroit tied the game at 81-81 before Richard Hamilton, an 87.1% free-throw shooter who missed two of seven in the fourth quarter, missed on two that could have put the Pistons ahead.

“When ‘Rip’ missed those two, you could feel all the air go out of us,” Coach Flip Saunders said.

That let Dallas take the lead for good, 85-81, on two Jason Terry jump shots.

Orlando 97, Miami 83 -- The Heat trailed by 18 at halftime and could get no closer than 12 thereafter in having its nine-game winning streak ended. It also ended a 14-game home win streak.

Hedo Turkoglu scored 20 points for Orlando, which improved to 3-0 against Miami this season. Shaquille O’Neal had 20 points for Miami.

Houston 124, Philadelphia 74 -- The Rockets led, 32-15, after the first quarter in handing the 76ers their biggest loss in Wachovia Center.

Yao Ming scored 24 points for Houston.

New York 92, Toronto 74 -- The Knicks’ 27-5 second-half run turned a two-point deficit into a 20-point lead en route to victory at New York.

Stephon Marbury scored 21 points for New York. Chris Bosh scored 21 for Toronto.

Seattle 95, Portland 77 -- The visiting SuperSonics used a 20-4 fourth-quarter run to end a five-game losing streak. Rashard Lewis had 27 points and 12 rebounds for Seattle.

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The Boston Celtics confirmed that the team had been fined $30,000 by the NBA for what the league called excessive contact with the family of Texas freshman Kevin Durant, after General Manager Danny Ainge sat next to Durant’s mother during the Big 12 Conference tournament.