Josh Smith made a driving, left-handed bank shot with 1.2 seconds left to give the Detroit Pistons a 110-108 NBA win over the Phoenix Suns on Saturday, while the Houston Rockets came back to down Washington.
Smith was involved in a few big plays in the final half-minute - both good and bad.
His 3-pointer as the shot clock expired put Detroit ahead 108-105 with 26.8 seconds left. Then he fouled Gerald Green while the Phoenix guard was shooting a 3-pointer.
Green made all three free throws to tie it with 4.3 seconds remaining.
Smith took the ensuing inbounds pass near the top of the key, drove to the right and then switched hands, making a tough shot while being tightly defended by Channing Frye.
Green's shot at the buzzer from in front of the Detroit bench missed badly.
Smith finished with 25 points, and Brandon Jennings had eight points, 18 assists - an NBA high this season - and eight rebounds for Detroit.
Frye led Phoenix with 21 points.
Houston built a 25-point lead, lost all of it, then rallied from five down late in the fourth quarter to defeat the Washington Capitals 114-107 in a game twice delayed by leaks in the roof.
Long after the stoppages of 35 and 22 minutes because the leaks, James Hardin levelled the game with a driving lay-up with 2:33 to play, then gave the Rockets the lead again - this time for good - with a three-point play with 1:54 remaining.
He finished with 25 points for the Rockets.
Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points and 13 rebounds to help the Trail Blazers hand the Boston Celtics their eighth straight loss, 112-104.
The win kept Portland tied for first place with Oklahoma City in the Northwest Division.
In Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki scored a season-high 40 points as the Mavericks recovered from a cold start to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 110-97.
Anthony Davis had 28 points and 14 rebounds for the Pelicans.
The Knicks downed the Philadelphia 76ers 102-92 after Amare Stoudemire scored 21 points and Carmelo Anthony added 18 to lead New York, while Patrick Patterson had 14 points and 12 rebounds as the Toronto Raptors beat the Nets 96-80 to end Brooklyn's five-game winning streak.
In other games, the Chicago Bulls defeated the Charlotte Bobcats 103-97, the Oklahoma City Thunder downed the Milwaukee Bucks 101-85 and the Denver Nuggets were 120-94 winners over the Orlando Magic.
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