NBA | Afflalo, Pistons motor past Heat

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — When Arron Afflalo gets a rare start for the Detroit Pistons, he knows he isn't going to be the focus of the opposing defense.

On Thursday, the rookie took advantage.

Afflalo, starting in place of the injured Richard Hamilton, had a career-high 15 points as the Pistons clinched the Central Division title with a 85-69 victory over the Miami Heat.

"I'm out there with four All-Star-caliber players, so they aren't going to be paying much attention to me," Afflalo said. "I hit a couple shots early, and that let me get comfortable."

Afflalo talked to the media while watching his alma mater, UCLA, take on Western Kentucky in an NCAA tournament game.

"The best part about my situation is that I've got a lot of veteran teammates that have all been through this before," he said. "They are able to calm me down and tell me what to do."

The win ensured Detroit's fourth straight division title and sixth in the last seven years.

"It means a lot," Chauncey Billups said. "Every year, we're picked to finish second, third, maybe even fourth, but at the end, we're in first. That feels good."

Detroit didn't clinch the title in stellar form, though. The Pistons came in having lost three of four, and struggled against the hapless Heat.

"Those guys had nothing to lose, and they were going to try to prove some things — earn a roster spot or secure things for next year," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. "We executed down the stretch. Any time you hold a team, I don't care who it is, to 24 points in the second half, you have a chance to win."

Miami, which has lost 13 of 15, dressed nine players, including four rookies and two second-year players.

"It's hard to evaluate young guys when you aren't playing them with your best players," said Miami coach Pat Riley. "We're asking them to do things we wouldn't normally expect them to do."

Rookie Blake Ahearn, who came into the game with seven career points, led Miami with 15, but just two other players reached double figures.