The Detroit Pistons clinched the NBA's Central Division title with a 85-69 victory over the Miami Heat on Thursday. Rookie Arron Afflalo had career highs of 15 points and seven rebounds for Detroit, which struggled against the hapless Heat. Miami, which only dressed nine players, has lost 13 of 15. Nuggets 118, Mavericks 105: In Denver, Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points and sparked the decisive run in the third quarter of Denver's win over sliding Dallas. The Nuggets won their fourth straight and stayed within half a game of Golden State, which holds the eighth and last playoff berths in the Western Conference. They also closed within three games of Northwest Division leader Utah. Denver's grand night was capped when forward Nene entered the game with 1:17 left, returning to the court 2 1/2 months after surgery to remove a malignant testicular tumor, and just over a month after undergoing chemotherapy. The Mavericks are 10-9 since acquiring Jason Kidd from New Jersey, but none of the wins was against teams with winning records. Six of their final 10 games are against teams above .500. Warriors 111, Trail Blazers 95: In Oakland, California, Golden State bolstered its playoff hopes by beating an undermanned Portland. Stephen Jackson scored 14 of his 24 points in the third quarter and the Warriors clung on to the last playoff spot in the Western Conference with 11 games to play. The Warriors' playoff hopes will hinge on their next two games, against the team directly below them – Denver – and directly above them – Dallas – in the playoff standings. The Warriors fell behind by 14 points in the first quarter before finding their stride. Golden State has rallied from double-digit deficits in 16 of its 44 wins this season. Golden State broke open a close game with a dominant third quarter, when it sank 18 of 20 free throws after not going to the line once in the first half. __
