AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – One of the best defenses in NBA history shut down the highest scoring team in the Eastern Conference.

Richard Hamilton scored 21 points and the Detroit Pistons set a team playoff record with 14 steals in a 108-82 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday in Game 1 of their first-round series.

Detroit gave up just 84.3 points a game this year, the third-lowest scoring average since the NBA began using a shock clock during the 1954-55 season. It set a league record by holding 11 opponents – including five straight – under 70 points, and 36 in a row to less than 100.

The Bucks, who averaged 98 points a game, also ranked fourth in the league in scoring. They played four close regular-season games against Detroit, losing three of them.

But the Bucks didn’t play Detroit with Rasheed Wallace, who has made the Pistons’ stingy defense suffocating since being acquired Feb. 19 in a three-team trade.

Detroit forced 25 turnovers and had eight blocks. The constant defensive pressure had the Bucks scrambling just to get their shots off.
Kings 116, Mavericks 105
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – After finishing the regular season with an ugly collapse, the Sacramento Kings got back to what they do best: shooting, scoring and looking awfully good in the process.

Peja Stojakovic scored 28 points and Chris Webber added 26 points and 12 rebounds, propelling the Kings to a 116-105 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the best-of-seven playoff series Sunday.

The Kings made a franchise-record 11 of their 21 3-pointers, including five by Stojakovic to tie Sacramento’s individual playoff best. The Kings were energized from the opening tip, and not even Dirk Nowitzki could keep Dallas close in the fourth quarter of a fitting opener for the NBA’s two highest-scoring teams.

Nowitzki had 32 points and 13 rebounds but battled foul trouble for the Mavericks, who have never won a playoff series opener on the road.

These Mavs struggled away from Dallas all season, going 16-25, and the Kings were just as inhospitable as their cowbell-ringing fans.
Heat 81, Hornets 79
MIAMI – Thanks to rookie Dwyane Wade’s heroics, the Miami Heat started the playoffs the same way they ended the regular season: by winning.

Wade sank a 7-foot jumper with 1.3 seconds left, and the Heat stayed hot by beating the New Orleans Hornets 81-79 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference series Sunday night.

The Heat earned their first playoff berth in three years with a 17-4 finish, and they closed strong against the Hornets after some shaky moments in the fourth quarter.

New Orleans trailed 77-65 midway through the period, but rallied to tie the game on P.J. Brown’s jumper with 54 seconds left.
T-wolves 106, Nuggets 92
MINNEAPOLIS – Kevin Garnett and the Minnesota Timberwolves might have finally found their formula for postseason success in a clutch, savvy point guard named Sam Cassell.

Cassell tied a career high with 40 points, Garnett put up 30 points and 20 rebounds and the top-seeded Timberwolves beat the Denver Nuggets 106-92 on Sunday night in Game 1 of their first-round series.

Rookie Carmelo Anthony had a quiet 19 points in his postseason debut for the Nuggets, most of them in the second half with his team down by double digits.

Game 2 is at Target Center on Wednesday night.

Denver, the eighth-place team in the West making its first playoff appearance since 1995, didn’t make it easy for Minnesota despite being outrebounded 48-35 and going 3-for-17 from 3-point range.

The Timberwolves, determined to end an NBA-record streak of seven straight losses in the opening round, had their 22-point lead in third quarter whittled to five early in the fourth.

But Cassell helped finish it off, scoring 12 points over the final nine minutes to stave off the Nuggets.

AP-ES-04-19-04 0029EDT