In what might have been a glimpse at the future of this year's NBA final, the top teams from the Eastern and Western conferences squared off on a night Richard Hamilton would like to soon forget.
Hamilton has played a lot of basketball in his life, and almost all of it has gone better than Sunday.
In a game televised across the U.S. and Canada, Hamilton missed five fourth-quarter free throws before ending the game on the Detroit Pistons bench, bleeding heavily from a cut inflicted by one of his teammates.
Adding insult to injury, the Pistons lost 92-88 to the Dallas Mavericks to end their five-game winning streak.
``It was crazy,'' said Hamilton, who came into the game shooting 87.1 per cent from the line. ``I never expect to miss back-to-back free throws twice in a row. That's crazy to me.''
Hamilton talked after getting three stitches over his left eye thanks to a collision with teammate Chris Webber's elbow. His trademark mask protected his nose, but dug into his eyelid.
``He's going to be fine,'' Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. ``I'm more worried about his free throws than his eye.''
Detroit went 2-for-8 from the line in the fourth and hit only eight of 20 shots from the floor.
``Hopefully, we're going to see that team in the finals, so we wanted to see some things tonight,'' Saunders said. ``We had the chances we wanted. We just didn't convert them.''
Elsewhere in the NBA, it was: Knicks 92, Raptors 74; Magic 97, Heat 83; Nets 101, Clippers 95; Rockets 124, Sixers 74; Lakers 109, Timberwolves 102; and SuperSonics 95, Trail Blazers 77.
At Auburn Hills, Mich., Dirk Nowitzki scored 28 points, including 21 in the second half, to help Dallas avenge a 92-82 home loss to the Pistons on Dec. 7. Nowitzki hit nine of 12 shots in the final 24 minutes after going 2-for-8 in the first half.
``I had good looks, but I had a couple go in and out, so I wanted to stay aggressive,'' he said. ``My team has a lot of confidence in my ability, so I just hung with it.''
Detroit was coming off its first 5-0 West Coast trip in 15 years, but played without all-star point guard Chauncey Billups, who injured his groin in Friday's win at Phoenix.
``Obviously, that helped us,'' Nowitzki said. ``He's probably their MVP and he's one of the greatest clutch shooters in the league.''
Ronald Murray scored 18 points to lead six Pistons in double figures, but Detroit had only one other player score. With Billups and Lindsey Hunter (drug suspension) out, the Pistons didn't have much depth.
``When they went small in the fourth, I looked over at the bench, and there weren't a lot of small guys over there,'' Saunders said.
The Pistons led 73-69 early in the fourth, but the Mavericks answered with a 9-0 run that included a three-point play by former Piston Jerry Stackhouse.
Detroit tied the game at 81 when Erick Dampier was called for a flagrant foul after shoving Hamilton in the back on a fast-break dunk attempt and Hamilton split the free throws. Rasheed Wallace missed a three-pointer on the ensuing possession and Hamilton then missed another two free throws _ dropping him to 2-for-7 in the quarter.
``When Rip missed those two, you could feel all the air go out of us,'' Saunders said.
That let Dallas take an 85-81 lead on two Jason Terry jumpers. After a Detroit miss, Hamilton fouled the player Detroit traded to get him, and Stackhouse hit two free throws to make it a six-point game with 1:35 left.
After Webber missed a free throw on a potential three-point play, Nowitzki iced the game with a long three-pointer.
The Pistons led 50-46 at the half, despite failing to pull down a single offensive rebound. Antonio McDyess had 13 points in the first half off the bench, while Devin Harris and Josh Howard combined for 23 for Dallas.
Knicks 92, Raptors 74
At New York, Stephon Marbury scored 14 of his 21 points in a dominant third quarter that lifted New York past Toronto.
Magic 97, Heat 83
At Miami, Hedo Turkoglu scored 11 of his 20 points in the first quarter, Dwight Howard added 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Orlando ended Miami's nine-game winning streak.
Nets 101, Clippers 95
At East Rutherford, N.J., Jason Kidd had 23 points and 13 assists, and hit four free throws in the final 18.5 seconds to lead New Jersey over Los Angeles.
Rockets 124, Sixers 74
At Philadelphia, Yao Ming scored 24 points, Tracy McGrady added 21, and Houston coasted past Philadelphia.
Lakers 109, Timberwolves 102
At Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant became the first Los Angeles player in 44 seasons with consecutive 50-point games, following a 65-point effort with 50 against Minnesota.
SuperSonics 95, Trail Blazers 77
At Portland, Ore., Rashard Lewis had 27 points and 12 rebounds, and Seattle snapped a five-game losing streak with a victory over the Portland.
