Adebayo's 3-pointer at the buzzer pushes Heat past Pistons

Detroit — On a day when one of the greatest Pistons squads in franchise history received their flowers for delivering the Motor City's last NBA championship — nearly two decades ago — the team's current iteration displayed an admirable amount of resilience, but couldn't send their fans home with a victory.

The defining moment of round 4 between the Pistons and Miami Heat occurred in the waning minutes. Cade Cunningham tied the game at 101 with 42 seconds left after scoring a layup. Evan Fournier came up with the game's biggest steal of the night, which led to an opportunity for Detroit to have the last shot. Cunningham attempted a 3-pointer with nine seconds left and missed, giving the Heat the ball and another chance to score.

Terry Rozier found a trailing Bam Adebayo, who drilled the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Heat a 104-101 win over the Pistons. It was just Adebayo's fourth 3-pointer this season.

Pistons coach Monty Williams was asked about the final possession and how some would question Cunningham's attempted 3 with so much time left on the clock.

"I'm not going to put that out there. We had a chance to win the game," Williams said. "Maybe there was too much time on the clock, but if he'd made the shot, nobody would've said a word. We would've gotten a stop and that would've been it. I'm not going to come down on anyone for that kind of possession."

Cunningham could only watch the ball go from Adebayo's hands to the bottom of the net as time expired. He watched Fournier kick the game ball high into the rafters and then watched the Heat celebrate at midcourt. He was frustrated about his decision to shoot with nine seconds left, but said he liked the matchup against Heat rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr.

"Held it for a little bit," Cunningham said. "Tried to run the clock a little bit. I liked the matchup I had so I knew I was gonna take that on. The last two plays, we already decided I was going to pull up. I read they were about to come double me and I tried to keep my matchup. Missed the shot. Bam hit his whatever (fourth) 3 of the year. Big-time shot, but that's just a tough loss. That one hurt."

Sunday's loss marked back-to-back losses to the Miami Heat for the Pistons. The loss was disappointing for the 12-55 Pistons, especially since it occurred against a Heat team without star forward Jimmy Butler, who rested due to a right foot contusion he sustained in Friday's win over Detroit.

All hope seemed lost for the Pistons after they fell into a 17-point hole with 6:40 remaining in the third quarter. It was a frustrating quarter for the home team. Players were frustrated with the officiating, especially after Cunningham was whistled for a loose-ball foul on Heat forward Caleb Martin. However, Detroit's bench unit sparked a 20-6 run to close the quarter. The scoring surge gave Detroit a chance going into the fourth quarter, which made for the dramatics that led to Adebayo's game-winner.

"I thought (the second unit) did a really good job of allowing us some stability," Williams said. "There were calls that just didn't go our way. That part's getting tough for us. ... Offensively, I thought we were playing with more pace."

Heat guard Duncan Robinson nailed his seventh 3-pointer of the night as he was fouled by Simone Fontecchio with exactly two minutes left on the clock. The untimely four-point play gave the Heat momentum until Isaiah Stewart drilled a 3 to bring the Pistons within just two points. A shot-clock violation took away a layup by Adebayo, giving the Pistons the ball with 51.1 seconds left.

Without Butler's leadership, Miami relied on Robinson's offensive firepower, as he scored a game-high 30 points with four rebounds and four assists. Robinson made five of his seven 3-pointers in the first half. His sixth 3-pointer was a high-arcing shot from the corner that gave the Heat a five-point lead with just over four minutes remaining. He was helped by Adebayo, who had a dominant game with 20 points and 16 rebounds. Rozier finished with 17 points, six rebounds and nine assists. Rookie forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 15 points.

The Pistons celebrated the 20th anniversary of the 2004 championship on Sunday. Located inside a suite next to section 112 of Little Caesars Arena were several members of that championship team, including Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Ben Wallace. Key members of the front-office staff, training staff and coaching staff were also in attendance. Fans erupted in cheers every time one of the players was highlighted.

The Pistons finish their six-game homestand — the longest since a six-leg home stand home from Nov. 23 to Dec. 3, 2018 — with a record of 3-3. There isn't any rest for the weary, as Detroit will travel to face the top-seeded Boston Celtics on Monday night.

mcurtis@detroitnews.com

@MikeACurtis2