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 Johnson scored 15 of his game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter
and the Miami Heat moved into a first-place tie in the Southeast
Division by downing the Detroit Pistons 99-93 on Tuesday night at
The Palace.
Johnson was responsible for 17 of the Heat's last 20 points, adding
an assist during his late flurry. He signed with Miami after the
veteran small forward reached a buyout agreement with Brooklyn in
late February and cleared waivers.
"It's better seeing it on this side of the ball," said Wade, who
chipped in 14 points. "I've seen it as a defender, as an opponent,
but it's so good to see it on your team. We have different guys we
can go to, to take over or make plays, to be aggressive, and tonight
was Joe's night."
The Heat pulled even with Atlanta in the division and improved their
chances of getting home-court advantage in the first round of the
playoffs. Miami completes its regular season on Wednesday at Boston.
A victory there would clinched the No. 3 seed in the Eastern
Conference playoffs.
They couldn't have done it without Johnson, who collected his third
20-point outing since joining the club.
"We were running plays through Joe and he's making the reads," Miami
coach Erik Spoelstra said. "He's under control, surveying the
defense, waiting for the defense to slip up or make a mistake. When
you get into the last six minutes of a close game, that kind of
presence has a calming effect on everybody else."
Johnson got hot after he subbed in for Wade.
"We were getting stops, and I checked in the game and made a
desperation three. Then I caught one in rhythm," he said. "As a
scorer, that's all you need is a couple of them to go in."
Luol Deng contributed 17 points and 10 rebounds and Goran Dragic had
16 points for the Heat (48-33). Hassan Whiteside added 14 points and
nine rebounds.
Heat rookie forward Justise Winslow sat out with an ankle sprain.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led Detroit (43-38) with 17 points, and
Marcus Morris supplied 16 points and nine rebounds. Tobias Harris
also scored 16 points and Andre Drummond chipped in nine while
grabbing 18 rebounds.
With the loss, combined with Indiana's victory over New York on
Tuesday, the Pistons are locked into the No. 8 seed in the Eastern
Conference playoffs. They will face top-seeded Cleveland in the
first round.
"We are going to have to play a lot better in the playoffs than we
did tonight," Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said. "That's for sure.
We are not beating Cleveland with that kind of offensive
performance."
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Detroit's leading scorer, point guard Reggie Jackson, was a late
scratch because of an abdominal strain. Jackson scored 39 points in
a 112-99 victory over Washington on Friday night that clinched the
Pistons' first playoff berth since the 2008-09 season.
"It's annoying. You go through your pregame routine and it's just
not your night," Jackson said. "I had planned to play. I'm happy
with the matchup but just wish I could have been out there with my
teammates."
Neither team led by more than five points during the first three
quarters.
Dragic made two jumpers early in the fourth quarter to nudge Miami's
lead to five. Johnson fired in back-to-back 3-pointers to make it
85-78 with 5:26 remaining. Johnson added a short jumper for a
nine-point lead.
The Pistons chipped away and got within four at 93-89 when Morris
tossed in a 3-pointer with 1:24 remaining. Johnson then finished off
Detroit with a corner triple.
NOTES: Heat C Hassan Whiteside's 3.69 blocks-average is higher than
the team total of the Pistons, who rank last in that category at
3.61. ... Detroit C Andre Drummond's 66 double-doubles entering the
game ranked second in franchise history behind Bob Lanier's 69
during the 1972-73 season. ... Miami was 15-0 when holding opponents
below 90 points. ... The Heat have a winning record against every
division except the Pacific. They were 5-5 against Pacific Division
clubs. ... The Pistons rank second in the NBA in second-chance
points at 14.8 per game, trailing only Oklahoma City's 15.7. ...
Detroit will finish with a winning record for the first time since
the 2007-08 season. ... Miami SF Justise Winslow leads the team in
games played. "He's earned his minutes," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra
said. "It hasn't at all been about development. He's a competitor
and that's probably one of his strongest suits."
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