AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- LeBron James had 17 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds to help the Miami Heat build a big lead, and then rested in the fourth quarter of a 110-78 victory against the Detroit Pistons on Friday night.
It was James' first triple-double of the season and No. 37 for his career. It also was the fourth time he accomplished the feat without playing in the fourth quarter.
James' last triple-double through three quarters was Jan. 27, 2009, for Cleveland against Sacramento, according to STATS.
The banged-up Heat had little trouble with the Pistons even though they were without Dwyane Wade, Mario Chalmers, Ray Allen and Greg Oden. They had plenty of players make up for the losses.
Udonis Haslem scored 12 of his 17 points in the first quarter, when James already had seven assists. Chris Bosh scored 15, Chris Andersen had 13 points, Norris Cole scored 12 and James Jones added 10 for Miami.
Greg Monroe and Will Bynum each had 12 points and Kyle Singler scored 11 for the Pistons, who honored their 1989 championship team at halftime (see full recap).
Nets top Cavaliers, win 12th straight at home
NEW YORK -- Paul Pierce scored 17 of his 22 points in a flawless first quarter, and the Brooklyn Nets quickly pulled away in the second on the way to their 12th straight home victory, 108-97 over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.
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Joe Johnson added 14 points for the Nets, who played three straight overtime games on their road trip, losing the last two of them. But things were much easier back home, where they won for the 19th time in their last 21 games.
They are hoping to open the playoffs here, but still have work to do to catch either Toronto or Chicago for home-court advantage in the first round.
The Nets were without Kevin Garnett for a 15th straight game because of back spasms and Andrei Kirilenko for a third in a row because of a sprained left ankle, but had six players score in double figures and shot 55 percent from the field. They scored the first 12 points of the second quarter to break away from a 29-all tie, and Cleveland never put much of a dent in the lead (see full recap).
Raptors clinch playoff berth in win over Boston
TORONTO -- Amir Johnson scored the winning basket with seven seconds left, and the Toronto Raptors clinched their first playoff berth in six seasons by beating the Boston Celtics 105-103 on Friday night.
DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points as the Raptors won for the 18th time in 24 home games. Terrence Ross had 17 points, Greivis Vasquez scored 15 and Jonas Valanciunas finished with 13.
The Atlantic Division-leading Raptors last reached the playoffs in 2007-08, losing in five games to Orlando in the first round. This is their sixth playoff berth in 19 seasons (see full recap).