AUBURN HILLS, Michigan -- Overmatched and undermanned, the Detroit Pistons had nothing going for them except Shaquille O'Neal's flu. It wasn't enough.
O'Neal scored 10 of his 23 points during a 16-4 second-quarter run that blew the game open, and Anfernee Hardaway added 26 points as the Orlando Magic cruised to a 108-88 win Sunday.
"That was the ugliest 23 points I've scored," O'Neal said. "I was really weak and tired. I'm hoping a day off will help. I really didn't get warm until the second quarter, and even that didn't last long."
Orlando has won nine of its last 10 games, including four straight, and has the best record in the league (26-6).
The Pistons, who lost their eighth-straight, were without rookie forward Grant Hill, who has an injured left foot. The Pistons fell for the 13th time in their last 14 games, and have a six-game home losing slide.
Detroit had already lost three key players -- point guard Lindsey Hunter (broken ankle) and centers Mark West (arthroscopic knee surgery) and Oliver Miller (broken hand).
The Magic has beaten the Pistons in five of their last six meetings.
"It's not easy to get up for games like this," said Orlando coach Brian Hill. "But we're looking at it as a challenge, because we know everybody wants to knock us off now.
"Shaq was very sick last night and this morning," Hill said. "He missed the shoot-around, so I didn't want to use him any more than I had to."
O'Neal was 7-of-11 from the line and 8-of-16 from the field in just 31 minutes. Hardaway was 8-of-13 from the floor, and Horace Grant added 14 points and 14 rebounds.
"I was kind of scared about this game," said Hardaway. "You don't want to come in and lose to a team that's this beat up. We knew they would play very hard because they were so badly overmatched, talent-wise."
Detroit was led by Joe Dumars' 19 points.
"We hung in there pretty tough at first, but they had more people and just wore us down," a disappointed Dumars said. "It's hard playing with nine. We don't have enough people to go out and compete."
Knicks 102, Timberwolves 87. In New York, Patrick Ewing and Hubert Davis each had 22 points to pace the Knicks to their season-high sixth-straight win, 102-87 over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
John Starks added 21 points for New York, which extended its winning streak over Minnesota to eight games.
Isaiah Rider had 21 points and Greg Foster added 15 to lead the Timberwolves, who have dropped five straight.
Davis was 7-of-8 from the field, including a career-high 6-of-7 from 3-point range. The Knicks tied a team-record with 12 3-pointers (12-of-24).
Nuggets 102, Bucks 96. In Denver, Reggie Williams hit a 3-pointer in overtime to give the Nuggets the lead for good in a 102-96 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Williams, Robert Pack and Bryant Stith each scored 16 points for the Nuggets, who have won four straight against the Bucks.
Glenn Robinson had 21 points and Eric Murdock netted 20 for Milwaukee, which has dropped eight of its last 11 games.
The Nuggets sent the game into overtime with 8.1 seconds left on a layup by Brian Williams.
Denver had a chance to win the game with four-tenths of a second left, but Stith missed two free throws after Marty Conlon was called for a deliberate foul.
The Nuggets still had one more chance to win it after retaining possession on the deliberate foul, but a dunk by Brian Williams came just after time expired.
Lakers 122, Heat 105. At Los Angeles, Vlade Divac had 21 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his third career triple-double as the surging Lakers won their fifth straight, 122-105 over the Miami Heat.
Anthony Peeler contributed a season-high 23 points off the bench and rookie Eddie Jones scored 20 as the Lakers, who won for the 10th time in 12 games, played their second-straight contest without leading scorer Cecric Ceballos. Ceballos, with back spasms, missed Friday's game against Milwaukee.
Six Lakers scored in double figures, including George Lynch, starting in place of Ceballos, who had 18, Nick Van Exel (17) and Elden Campbell (13).
Glen Rice had 26 points and John Salley added 19 as Miami lost for the fourth time in five games and lowered its road record to a league-worst 2-14.
O'Neal scored 10 of his 23 points during a 16-4 second-quarter run that blew the game open, and Anfernee Hardaway added 26 points as the Orlando Magic cruised to a 108-88 win Sunday.
"That was the ugliest 23 points I've scored," O'Neal said. "I was really weak and tired. I'm hoping a day off will help. I really didn't get warm until the second quarter, and even that didn't last long."
Orlando has won nine of its last 10 games, including four straight, and has the best record in the league (26-6).
The Pistons, who lost their eighth-straight, were without rookie forward Grant Hill, who has an injured left foot. The Pistons fell for the 13th time in their last 14 games, and have a six-game home losing slide.
Detroit had already lost three key players -- point guard Lindsey Hunter (broken ankle) and centers Mark West (arthroscopic knee surgery) and Oliver Miller (broken hand).
The Magic has beaten the Pistons in five of their last six meetings.
"It's not easy to get up for games like this," said Orlando coach Brian Hill. "But we're looking at it as a challenge, because we know everybody wants to knock us off now.
"Shaq was very sick last night and this morning," Hill said. "He missed the shoot-around, so I didn't want to use him any more than I had to."
O'Neal was 7-of-11 from the line and 8-of-16 from the field in just 31 minutes. Hardaway was 8-of-13 from the floor, and Horace Grant added 14 points and 14 rebounds.
"I was kind of scared about this game," said Hardaway. "You don't want to come in and lose to a team that's this beat up. We knew they would play very hard because they were so badly overmatched, talent-wise."
Detroit was led by Joe Dumars' 19 points.
"We hung in there pretty tough at first, but they had more people and just wore us down," a disappointed Dumars said. "It's hard playing with nine. We don't have enough people to go out and compete."
Knicks 102, Timberwolves 87. In New York, Patrick Ewing and Hubert Davis each had 22 points to pace the Knicks to their season-high sixth-straight win, 102-87 over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
John Starks added 21 points for New York, which extended its winning streak over Minnesota to eight games.
Isaiah Rider had 21 points and Greg Foster added 15 to lead the Timberwolves, who have dropped five straight.
Davis was 7-of-8 from the field, including a career-high 6-of-7 from 3-point range. The Knicks tied a team-record with 12 3-pointers (12-of-24).
Nuggets 102, Bucks 96. In Denver, Reggie Williams hit a 3-pointer in overtime to give the Nuggets the lead for good in a 102-96 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Williams, Robert Pack and Bryant Stith each scored 16 points for the Nuggets, who have won four straight against the Bucks.
Glenn Robinson had 21 points and Eric Murdock netted 20 for Milwaukee, which has dropped eight of its last 11 games.
The Nuggets sent the game into overtime with 8.1 seconds left on a layup by Brian Williams.
Denver had a chance to win the game with four-tenths of a second left, but Stith missed two free throws after Marty Conlon was called for a deliberate foul.
The Nuggets still had one more chance to win it after retaining possession on the deliberate foul, but a dunk by Brian Williams came just after time expired.
Lakers 122, Heat 105. At Los Angeles, Vlade Divac had 21 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his third career triple-double as the surging Lakers won their fifth straight, 122-105 over the Miami Heat.
Anthony Peeler contributed a season-high 23 points off the bench and rookie Eddie Jones scored 20 as the Lakers, who won for the 10th time in 12 games, played their second-straight contest without leading scorer Cecric Ceballos. Ceballos, with back spasms, missed Friday's game against Milwaukee.
Six Lakers scored in double figures, including George Lynch, starting in place of Ceballos, who had 18, Nick Van Exel (17) and Elden Campbell (13).
Glen Rice had 26 points and John Salley added 19 as Miami lost for the fourth time in five games and lowered its road record to a league-worst 2-14.
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