The Basketball Diaries

Detroit Pistons 110 Phoenix Suns 105 OT

The Suns had recently seemed to figure it out, winning their last seven games, but they couldn't figure out how to stop Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups on Monday night. Sheed kept the Pistons out front early with a barrage of three-pointers, finishing the night 5-of-9 behind the arc for 23 points, while Billups scored 9 of his 32 during overtime to lead Detroit to victory. Also stepping up were rookie guards Rodney Stuckey and Arron Afflalo as the Pistons had to make do without both Rip Hamilton and Juan Dixon. "This game is another vindication for the young guys," said Billups. "I have an unbelievable amount of confidence in those guys." Amare Stoudemire led Phoenix with 33 points.

Philadelphia 76ers 95 Boston Celtics 90

They've been doing it under the radar, but the Sixers have been playing very good basketball as of late. Something tells me their win over the Celtics on Monday night may help garner more attention, as the Sixers have now won 12 of their last 15 games and are over .500 for the first time this season. The key last night was a 19-0 run in the fourth quarter after facing a double-digit deficit. Andre Iguodala, who led Philly with 28 points, is pleased with the win but doesn't feel the Sixers have accomplished anything yet. "It shows how hard we've worked to get back," said Iguodala. "But I think we still have to have that mentality like we're a team that's still under .500 and still fighting. It's not over yet. We've gotten to a point where we want to be, which is over .500, but we still don't have an 'X' by our name" to signify a playoff berth.

Elsewhere...

• Heat 78 Bucks 73
• Nets 106 Knicks 91
• Nuggets 120 Grizzlies 106
• Rockets 108 Kings 100
• Sonics 97 Blazers 84
• Lakers 123 Warriors 119 OT