Heat at Pistons final score: Miami pummels Detroit, 110-78

Coming into Friday night, the majority of the headlines surrounding the game between the Miami Heat and the Detroit Pistons centered around who wasn’t playing for the Heat, but when the clock hit 0:00, the final result was staggeringly lopsided anyway. The Heat dominated the middle portion of the game, out-scoring Detroit 64-37 in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, and when the dust settled, the final margin was 110-78 in Miami’s favor.

Miami was without Dwyane Wade, Mario Chalmers, Greg Oden and Ray Allen in the game, but even on the road (!), they were dominant. LeBron James led the way, as usual, with a triple-double that included 17 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds, and he did so in just 30 minutes of court time. It was a typical LBJ performance in that he was in total command throughout, but even “the King” had to be impressed with this one.

In support of James, Chris Bosh added 15 points and 9 rebounds in 26 minutes, while long-time Heat forward Udonis Haslem added 17 points and 5 rebounds. With all of that said, it was an across the board effort from the Heat, and they finished the night having shot 54% from the field and 42% from 3 with a startling 31 assists on 43 made field goals.

Unfortunately for the Pistons, this result wasn’t terribly surprising. Detroit built their roster for a playoff push this season, but they are a long way from competing, and getting blown out like this with a relatively healthy roster is unacceptable. For example, Josh Smith shot 4 for 14 from the field and 1 for 5 (!) from 3-point land, and as a team, Detroit shot 3 for 24 from beyond the arc.  That won’t get it done.

Many thought that the Heat were “punting” this game given their active roster, but the final result was the complete inverse.