O’Neal carries Heat

Shaquille O’Neal helped the Miami Heat build a 22-point lead. And when they blew it, he delivered the go-ahead dunk in the final minute to beat the Detroit Pistons at Miami.

O’Neal had 31 points and 15 rebounds, both season highs, and the Heat earned their most impressive win yet since losing Dwyane Wade, edging Detroit 85-82 Friday night.

The Pistons rallied from a 50-28 deficit to take their first lead with 3:14 left. But O’Neal’s dunk with 36 seconds to go put the Heat ahead to stay, 82-80.

Detroit missed three 3-point tries in the final 20 seconds that would have tied the game, including one by Chauncey Billups, who finished 2 for 14 from the field. He missed 11 consecutive shots before scoring his first basket with 5 minutes left.

Bulls 104, Hornets 93: At Chicago, Ben Gordon scored 27 points, and Kirk Hinrich added 11 of his 22 in the fourth quarter to help Chicago pull away for a victory over New Orleans.

Suns 115, Pacers 90: At Phoenix, Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire scored 23 points apiece and Phoenix easily overcame the absence of Shawn Marion, who has a bruised right hand, to beat Indiana for the second time in four days.

Bucks 94, Raptors 81: At Toronto, Michael Redd scored 21 points and Milwaukee beat Toronto for its third straight victory.

All-Star Chris Bosh had 14 points on just eight shots for the Atlantic Division-leading Raptors.

Kings 116, Lakers 108: At Los Angeles, Mike Bibby scored 10 of his 33 points in the final 4:04 and Kevin Martin added 20, leading Sacramento to a victory over Los Angeles.

76ers 177, Grizzlies 112 (OT): At Philadelphia, Andre Iguodala and Kyle Korver each scored 27 points and Philadelphia tied a season high with its third straight victory.

Joe Smith added a season-high 18 points for the 76ers.

Knicks 106, Warriors 97: At New York, Stephon Marbury scored 34 points and Quentin Richardson added 30 points and 12 rebounds to lead New York to a victory over Golden State.

Eddy Curry added 22 points for the Knicks.

Wizards 93, Hawks 92: At Washington, Antawn Jamison scored 22 points in his first game back from a knee injury and Washington snapped a four-game losing streak with a win over Atlanta.

Spurs 98, Magic 74: At San Antonio, Manu Ginobili made six 3-pointers and finished with 31 points to help San Antonio beat Orlando.

Jazz 109, Timberwolves 83: At Minneapolis, Deron Williams had 21 points and eight assists to help Utah beat Minnesota.

Rockets 108, Nuggets 97: At Denver, Tracy McGrady scored 28 points and Dikembe Mutombo grabbed a season-high 22 rebounds to lead Houston past Denver.

Carmelo Anthony scored 30 points and Allen Iverson had 19 for Denver.

Around the league

Ray Allen has bone spurs in his left ankle and the Seattle SuperSonics don’t know when he’ll be able to play again. Sonics spokesman Kurt Fedders said Allen was questionable for Sunday night’s home game against Charlotte and will be further evaluated by a foot specialist on Monday. … Toronto rookie Andrea Bargnani, expected to miss two games due to an illness in his family, played against Milwaukee after all after weather delayed his flight to Italy. … Dwyane Wade had his dislocated left shoulder examined and Miami Heat coach Pat Riley said there’s no rush for a decision on whether season-ending surgery or rehabilitation is the best treatment. There’s a chance Wade could return for the playoffs if he decides on rehabilitation. … The Utah Jazz waived veteran forward Alan Henderson, eight days after they acquired him in a trade with Philadelphia. … Four months after the death of team patriarch Red Auerbach, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Danny Ainge reunited in grief to say goodbye to former Boston Celtics teammate Dennis Johnson at his funeral in Gardena, Calif. About 1,000 mourners attended. … The start of the game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz was delayed by 30 minutes because one of the baskets was too high.