Pistons beat heat at TDC, aided by technical FT

Malik Beasley made a technical free throw with 1.1 seconds left in overtime and the host Detroit Pistons escaped with a wild 123-121 victory over the Miami Heat in the NBA Cup opener for both teams on Tuesday night.

Tyler Herro, who scored the final nine points in regulation, all on 3-pointers, to force overtime, gave the Heat a two-point lead with a bench shot with 1.8 seconds left in overtime. An alley-oop dunk by Jalen Duren after an inbound pass from Cade Cunningham tied the game.

The Heat called a timeout that they didn’t have, resulting in a 122-121 technical lead. Beasley then shared two free throws after Miami was warned for a take foul.

Beasley and Cunningham finished with 21 points each. Cunningham also had nine assists and seven rebounds, but was responsible for seven of the Pistons’ 19 turnovers. Jaden Ivey had 19 points, Tobias Harris added 18 and Isaiah Stewart finished the game with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Herro scored 40 points. His 10 3-pointers tied a Heat record and are an NBA Cup single-game record. Bam Adebayo delivered 20 points and 12 rebounds.

The Heat played their second straight game without Jimmy Butler, who has a sprained right ankle.

Detroit scored the first 10 points of the game and led 32-21 at the end of the quarter.

The lead grew to 18 when the Pistons scored the first seven points of the second quarter. The pillow didn’t last long.

The Heat responded with a 23-4 run and a one-point lead. Detroit ended the half with a 10-4 run to take a 57-51 lead.

Cunningham’s first basket of the game, a 3-pointer, gave Detroit a 64-59 lead early in the second half. The Pistons ended the third game with an 8-2 run and led 91-82.

Herro made consecutive 3-pointers, cutting the Pistons’ lead to eight midway through the quarter.

When Stewart dunked with two minutes left, Detroit’s lead was still nine.

After an offensive foul by Ivey, Herro erupted with his late three-point shot on consecutive possessions, tying the score at 111. After the Pistons lost the ball, Herro missed a mid-range shot on Miami’s last regulation possession.

–Field level media