NBA ROUNDUP : Dumars’ Shot Sinks Mavericks

Detroit’s Joe Dumars wanted to make sure his shot was going to be the last one of the game, that the Pistons were going to win or the game was going to overtime.

Dribbling the ball with the score tied, 81-81, and eight seconds to play, Dumars saw the opening he wanted, then launched a three-point shot from the top of the circle with 1.8 seconds to play to give the Pistons an 84-81 victory over Dallas at Auburn Hills, Mich., Monday night.

It was the eighth loss in a row for the Mavericks and 15th in their last 16 games.

Dumars had taken an inbounds pass, dribbled four times and released his game-winning shot over the Mavericks’ Derek Harper.

“The hardest part was holding the ball and not shooting,” said Dumars, who finished with 14 points but had not scored since the opening minutes of the second half. “I was open and wanted to shoot. I could see immediately Harper was three or four steps back because he didn’t want me to get to the lane.”

After Dumars’ shot, Dallas inbounded the ball to Herb Williams, but Bill Laimbeer immediately fouled him before the Mavericks could try a three-pointer. Williams missed both free throws, the second intentionally, and Dallas did not get another shot.

Denver 111, Sacramento 109--Reggie Williams’ three-point shot with 14 seconds left wiped out a two-point deficit at Denver as the Nuggets ended a four-game losing streak.

Williams finished with 26 points. The Nuggets also had 22 points and 16 rebounds from Greg Anderson and 22 points and 11 rebounds from Dikembe Mutombo.

Wayman Tisdale put the Kings ahead, 109-107, with an 18-footer with 27 seconds left. Then Williams made the go-ahead three-pointer. Tisdale had 29 points.

Phoenix 131, Minnesota 111--Jeff Hornacek and Kevin Johnson had their way for three quarters at Phoenix, where the Suns kept their record perfect against the Timberwolves.

It was Phoenix’s 10th victory over Minnesota, a third-year NBA franchise, in as many games. Phoenix won the first of the four meetings this year, 101-95, at Minneapolis.

Hornacek had 10 points in the third quarter, when the Suns outscored the Timberwolves, 40-23, to take a 97-67 lead, and finished with 26. Johnson scored 19.

Dan Majerle added 20 points in 27 minutes for Phoenix, which won its fourth in a row and 13th consecutive game at home.