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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
MIAMI (AP) -- The Miami Heat handed the Detroit Pistons a
particularly painful loss Tuesday night.
Grant Hill, hurting so badly he could no longer play, hopped to
the bench early in the third quarter and kicked the back of a chair
in frustration.
And when Jamal Mashburn sank an eight-footer with six seconds
left, Miami won 84-82 Tuesday night to take a 2-0 lead in the
best-of-five series.
|  | | Miami's Jamal Mashburn looks for room to maneuver as Grant Hill defends. |
Game 3 is Saturday in Detroit.
"We're in a heck of a hole that Miami has created," Pistons
coach George Irvine said. "We've got to claw our way out."
The Heat won despite blowing a six-point lead in the final 2:08.
Detroit's last chance ended when Jerry Stackhouse slipped driving
to the basket and lost the ball, which Miami's Dan Majerle
recovered as time expired.
"I feel sick," Stackhouse said. "I thought I had a clear path
to the basket so I tried to attack it. Then I backed out for a jump
shot and I slipped."
Hill started but played less than four minutes in the second
half because of a bone bruise in his left foot that has bothered
him since late in the regular season. He scored nine points in 21
minutes.
"I felt something pop," Hill said. He was to undergo an MRI
early Wednesday when the team returned to Detroit.
All five Heat starters scored in double figures to overcome Tim
Hardaway's absence and foul trouble that hampered Mashburn, Alonzo
Mourning and P.J. Brown.
"This is about leaving your heart on the floor," Mourning
said. "That's what it came down to. We just wanted it a little
more."
Mashburn had 24 points and Mourning 22. Rookie Anthony Carter,
again coolly filling in for Hardaway, had 10 points and 13 assists,
a Heat franchise playoff record. Hardaway missed his second
consecutive game because of a sore left foot.
"It was a great game, and we'll take it," coach Pat Riley
said. "Offensively we did just enough to win."
Stackhouse led Detroit with 26 points.
About 125 people demonstrated near the arena before the game to
protest the Elian Gonzalez case, but despite a general strike
called by Cuban Americans, there were few no-shows in the announced
crowd of 16,500.
The Heat went ahead 75-74 on a basket by Brown and built the
lead to 82-76. But a 3-pointer by Terry Mills cut the margin to
82-79, and Jerome Williams' layup made the score 82-all with 59
seconds left.
After Majerle missed a 3-point try, Stackhouse had a driving
shot blocked with 26 seconds to go.
With the clock running down, Mashburn took the ball on the left
side, spun to split defenders Lindsey Hunter and Michael Curry,
then banked a shot over Christian Laettner and off the glass for
the winning score.
Mashburn said he knew the Pistons would try to strip the ball
before he shot.
"I expected somebody to come, so I kept the ball real low and
used a little misdirection," he said. "It worked out well."
The basket pushed the Pistons, who haven't won a playoff series
since 1991, to the brink of elimination.
Hill sank his first three shots in the opening five minutes, but
those were the All-Star forward's only baskets.
"I can't remember when I felt that good at the start of the
game," Hill said. "I was energized. I got into a good rhythm
early."
But he aggravated the injury in the first period. His limp
became progressively worse, and by the start of the second half he
was wincing and hopping around on one foot.
Hill left with 8:30 left in the third quarter, and he played only
33 seconds the rest of the game.
"It's admirable he's out there trying to play," Mourning said.
"But we're in a war right now. I'm really not concerned with it.
We've got one of our warriors out, and they don't care about
that."
Game notes
Riley wore two bandage strips over his left eye, the result
of an accident in his swimming pool. ... Before the game, Riley
praised Lenny Wilkens, who resigned Monday as coach of the Atlanta
Hawks. Wilkens and Riley rank 1-2 in career coaching victories.
"He's got a pretty good résumé," Riley said wryly. "I think he's
going to get a job." ... Mourning had 21 more blocked shots this
season than the entire Pistons team.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Detroit Clubhouse
Miami Clubhouse
Broken ankle forces Pistons' Hill out of playoffs
RECAPS
Miami 84
Detroit 82
San Antonio 85
Phoenix 70
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