Pistons Lose Wallace, Then the Game

Rasheed Wallace barely broke a sweat Friday night in his debut with the Detroit Pistons.

After Wallace played 12 minutes in the first half, the NBA ruled he could not play because paperwork from his trade from Atlanta was not completed by game time. Minus their big man, the Pistons lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 88-87, at Detroit.

Kevin Garnett had 25 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Timberwolves to their fifth consecutive victory. Detroit has lost seven of eight.

Wallace was dealt before the trading deadline Thursday. He scored four points on two-of-six shooting and had two rebounds.

The Pistons found out at halftime that Wallace and Mike James, acquired in the three-team trade that also involved Boston, were not eligible to play.

The league informed Piston president of basketball operations Joe Dumars of its decision, and he told Coach Larry Brown, who then told Wallace a few minutes before the second half started.

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Cleveland 89, San Antonio 87 -- Zydrunas Ilgauskas made a key putback in the final minute and the Cavaliers upended the Spurs at Cleveland.

Cleveland ended San Antonio’s six-game winning streak and dropped the defending NBA champions to 5-1 on a seven-game trip.

Tim Duncan scored 21 points but the reigning two-time league MVP made only nine of 28 shots.

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New Jersey 91, Toronto 72 -- The victory at Toronto was the 12th in a row for the Nets, a franchise record. Their previous longest streak came Dec. 23, 1982, through Jan. 12, 1983.

Net Coach Lawrence Frank improved to 11-0. He set an NBA record for the best start to a coaching career by winning his 10th consecutive game Wednesday.

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Indiana 96, Washington 87 -- Jamaal Tinsley made two three-point baskets in the final 1:10 to give the Pacers the victory at Washington.

Tinsley’s second three-point basket was a bank shot that secured the victory with 37 seconds left.

Indiana played without Ron Artest, who is out indefinitely after tearing a ligament in his left thumb Tuesday against New Orleans.

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Orlando 102, Denver 98 -- The Magic overcame a 35-point performance by Carmelo Anthony and Tracy McGrady’s ejection to win at Orlando.

McGrady was ejected for twice kicking the basketball into the stands at the end of the first half. He was upset there was no foul call on his layup attempt at the buzzer.

McGrady finished with 15 -- his fewest since going scoreless on Dec. 19, when he hurt his back in the first quarter. But he still surpassed 10,000 career points.

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Miami 125, Atlanta 92 -- The Heat built their biggest first-half lead in team history -- 73-42 -- and routed the short-handed Hawks at Miami. The win was their third in a row -- all by double-digits. The 125 points were a season-high. The Hawks dressed nine players, then lost Wesley Person after one quarter because of a sprained right knee.

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Utah 92, New York 78 -- Facing a team that used a zone to expose their weakness, the Knicks played one of their worst games of the Isiah Thomas era at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks, playing without shooting guard Allan Houston (sore knee), shot 38%.

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Sacramento 91, Chicago 83 -- The Kings, already shorthanded because of an injury to Brad Miller and the suspension of Chris Webber, lost top reserve Bobby Jackson late in the first half because of an abdominal strain, but won at Chicago.

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Memphis 97, Phoenix 92 -- Pau Gasol had 17 points, 10 rebounds and eight blocked shots at Memphis to help the Grizzlies hand the Suns their seventh loss in a row.

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Portland 94, Golden State 93 -- Zach Randolph made a layup with 1.8 seconds left to give the Trail Blazers the win at Oakland. Jason Richardson had made a go-ahead jump shot with 29.7 seconds left for the Warriors.

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Dennis Rodman was released by the Long Beach Jam of the American Basketball Assn. to give him the opportunity to try out for NBA teams. Rodman, 42, played in two games, getting 14 rebounds in 28 minutes in his debut on Jan. 16 in a victory over Fresno, and eight rebounds in a little less than 19 minutes in a win over Jersey on Jan. 18.