Jones Dislocates Shoulder as Heat Holds Off Pistons

The Miami Heat made another move up the standings, but this time they weren’t in the mood for celebrating.

Brian Grant scored 20 points and Dan Majerle made a three-point shot in the final seconds Monday night as the Heat overcame the loss of guard Eddie Jones to defeat the Detroit Pistons, 87-84, at Miami.

The Heat won its third in a row and fifth in six games, but it wasn’t easy--or without cost.

Jones, the cornerstone of a blockbuster trade with the Charlotte Hornets last summer, suffered a dislocated left shoulder in the second quarter and was taken off on a stretcher. His long-term prognosis won’t be known until today.

“I don’t know how long he’ll be out,” Heat Coach Pat Riley said of the former Laker. “Until [today] we won’t know anything. We’ll have to wait and see. I would imagine that he’ll be out a little while--I just don’t know how long.”

The Heat, which moved two games ahead of the idle New York Knicks for third place in the East, turned to other players for scoring.

Anthony Mason scored 16 points and added 19 rebounds, and Tim Hardaway scored 16 points as the Heat moved 13 games above .500.

Majerle, who scored a season-high 12 points, made a three-point shot with the shot clock winding down and Miami clinging to an 82-81 lead with 14.3 seconds to play. The Pistons answered with a three-point basket by Jerry Stackhouse with 7.1 seconds remaining.

Hardaway made two free throws with six seconds left to give Miami an 87-84 lead. It was Hardaway’s first points since the 9:22 mark of the third quarter.

Milwaukee 107, New Jersey 100--Ray Allen had 23 points and Sam Cassell scored 14 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Bucks before a sparse crowd at East Rutherford, N.J.

A snowstorm in the New York area kept the crowd to 3,216. During the first quarter, the Nets announced they could sit wherever they liked.

Orlando 95, Dallas 81--Tracy McGrady scored 23 points and seldom-used Cory Alexander keyed a decisive second-half run for the Magic at Orlando, Fla.

Darrell Armstrong had 21 points and Bo Outlaw added 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Magic.

Utah 109, Atlanta 102--Karl Malone scored 30 points and John Stockton added 22 at Atlanta as the Jazz won its sixth in a row over the Hawks.

San Antonio 91, Vancouver 77--Derek Anderson scored 25 points to lead the Spurs at Vancouver, Canada.

Around the League

Rod Strickland, waived last week by the Washington Wizards, signed with the Portland Trail Blazers for the rest of the season. Strickland, 34, accepted the Trail Blazers’ offer of $2.25 million, the amount of the mid-level salary cap exception they had available. He will back up Damon Stoudamire at point guard. Strickland spent four seasons in Portland from 1992-96 before he and Harvey Grant were traded to the Wizards for Rasheed Wallace and Mitchell Butler in 1996. . . . Rookie Mateen Cleaves of the Detroit Pistons was ticketed Sunday in Grand Blanc Township, Mich., for speeding and driving with a suspended license. Cleaves was driving 85 mph in a 70-mph zone on an interstate, and a routine check showed his license was suspended, police said. He is to appear in court in Grand Blanc on March 26.