Malik Beasley made a game-tying free throw with 1.1 seconds left in overtime after Miami was assessed a technical foul for calling a timeout when there was no timeout remaining, beating the Detroit Pistons 123-121 on Tuesday night defeated the Heat in an NBA Cup game.
Tyler Herro’s jumper put Miami ahead 121-119 with 1.8 seconds left, but after a timeout Cade Cunningham hit Jalen Duren with an alley-oop on the inbounds pass.
The Heat then called the illegal timeout. Beasley hit the foul shot to give Detroit a 122-121 lead, then added another free throw with 0.1 seconds left.
Beasley and Cunningham each scored 21 for the Pistons, who went 0-4 in the NBA Cup last year. Herro had 40, including 20 in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Heat: Nikola Jovic left the game in the first quarter after suffering a reduced septum in a collision with Beasley. Beasley’s jaw collided with Jovic’s nose and mouth, causing the Serb to bleed.
Pistons: The game was delayed for several minutes in the third quarter when Tim Hardaway Jr. was injured after a collision with Herro and Duran. Hardaway was already on the ground when Duren landed on him, with Duren’s knee hitting him in the head. A bloodied Hardaway stood up briefly after lengthy medical care, but was taken off the floor in a wheelchair.
The Pistons led 39-21 early in the second quarter and looked like they would continue to pull away. However, Bam Adebayo, Herro and Duncan Robinson scored all but two points in a 23-4 run that put the Heat ahead 44-43 with 4:14 left in the half.
Herro scored 18 points in the fourth quarter on 6-for-9 shooting, including 6-for-8 on 3-pointers.
The Pistons are back in action on Wednesday in Milwaukee, while the Heat are off until they play at Indiana on Friday and Sunday.
