The Miami Heat got off to a woeful start on Saturday night, and it cost them.

They’ll look for a better beginning — and desired result — when they visit the Detroit Pistons on Sunday evening.

The Heat trailed Chicago 70-45 at halftime Saturday and wound up losing 113-99. Miami pulled within three points during the fourth quarter but couldn’t sustain the rally.

“We looked like two different teams from the first half to the second half,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Way more active, our disposition was better. It was more like we were playing on our heels and passively in the first half. Then they got into a great groove. They didn’t really feel us in the first half. Some shots they might not normally make, the basket just got bigger and bigger.”

Miami (38-34) was coming off a pair of home wins against Utah and Memphis. Against the Bulls, Chicago shot 56.3 percent from the field and made half of its 34 3-point attempts, while the Heat shot 42.7 percent and made only 27 percent of its 3-point attempts.

“We’re capable of being much better defensively, and that will happen tomorrow,” Spoelstra said, adding, “We’ve got to move on. We’ve got to get focused on a very important game tomorrow.”

The Heat should have Kyle Lowry back in the rotation on Sunday. Lowry, who has battled knee soreness much of the season, sat out Saturday’s contest. Miami is in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, two games out of the sixth and final guaranteed playoff spot.

“This is what we planned on during the week, and we’re sticking with the plan,” Spoelstra said. “(Sunday) is when we deemed his next work day.”

The Pistons (16-55) have lost 13 of their last 14 games. Saddled with a bevy of injuries, coach Dwane Casey has been experimenting with the players he has available as his team owns the worst record in the league.

Casey played centers James Wiseman and Jalen Duren together for a time during a 119-100 loss to Denver on Thursday night.

Duren, a rookie, fed Wiseman for a pair of dunks.

“I think he’s progressed really well throughout the season, even as a passer,” fellow rookie Jaden Ivey said of Duren. “He’s reading the low man, making the right reads to James, he’s making the kickouts. That’s something you need as a big, being able to read that low-man defender if he’s committing to the big and find those outside shooters. I think he’s done a great job of that.”

However, the Pistons didn’t do a great job overall after taking a six-point halftime advantage against the Western Conference-leading Nuggets. Detroit was outscored 61-36 in the second half.

“It was an opportunity to experiment with it,” Casey said of the big lineup. “Our spacing’s got to be better. I thought we couldn’t generate offense in that stretch. Have to find some ways to make sure we keep the scoreboard moving with those two bigs in there.”

With a much different group on the court, the Pistons defeated the Heat 116-96 in Miami on Dec. 6. Bojan Bogdanovic, who hasn’t played since March 1 due to Achilles soreness, led Detroit that night with 31 points.

Forward Marvin Bagley III could return to action on Sunday after missing the last three games due to right ankle soreness.

–Field Level Media

Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey scored 31 points apiece as the Philadelphia 76ers won their eighth straight game, beating the short-handed Indiana Pacers 141-121 on Saturday in Indianapolis.

Embiid contributed seven rebounds and seven assists, Tobias Harris scored 24 points and De’Anthony Melton had 14 points and six steals for Philadelphia, which completed a four-game season series sweep of the Pacers.

Aaron Nesmith led Indiana with a career-high 25 points. Andrew Nembhard scored 22 points, Myles Turner added 20 and Buddy Hield, Jordan Nwora and Jalen Smith had 13 apiece for the Pacers, who lost despite shooting 51.7 percent from the field.

The Sixers stretched their lead to 125-105 on Maxey’s trey with 7:14 remaining and maintained a double-digit lead throughout the fourth quarter. Maxey was 12 of 18 from the field and 5 of 9 from 3-point range.

Jazz 118, Celtics 117

Lauri Markkanen scored 28 points with 10 rebounds, and Utah rallied late to take a victory over Boston in Salt Lake City.

Jaylen Brown topped Boston with 25 points and Grant Williams scored 23, but his last-second game-winning attempt near the rim was blocked by rookie Walker Kessler. Kessler finished with 12 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks.

Boston led by as many as 19 points and was up by six with 2:31 left to play after a 3-pointer by Williams, who hit 7 of 12 shots from deep. But the Jazz, playing their first game since Monday, returned after a six-game road trip and rallied past the road-weary Celtics. It was Boston’s third game in four nights. Despite the loss, the Celtics still managed to clinch a playoff spot due to a loss by the Miami Heat earlier Saturday.

Kings 132, Wizards 118

Domantas Sabonis collected 30 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds to lift streaking Sacramento to a victory over host Washington.

Sabonis made 10 of 12 shots from both the floor and the free-throw line to send the Kings to their 11th win in their last 13 contests overall and 13th in their last 17 on the road. Terence Davis scored 21 points, Keegan Murray had 19 and Malik Monk added 17 for the Kings, who shot a robust 55.8 percent from the floor (48 of 86) and 59.5 percent from 3-point range (22 of 37).

Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma made 12 of 23 shots to finish with 33 points. He erupted for 32 points, nine rebounds and five assists in the previous meeting with the Kings. Bradley Beal added 20 points for Washington, which fell for the seventh time in nine games despite shooting 45.1 percent from the floor.

Knicks 116, Nuggets 110

Jalen Brunson scored 24 points, RJ Barrett had 21 and host New York beat Denver.

Julius Randle scored 20 points and Josh Hart added 13 for the Knicks, who have won three straight to solidify their spot among the top six teams in the Eastern Conference. Jamal Murray scored 25 points and Nikola Jokic had 24 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists as the Nuggets lost for the fifth time in their past six games yet still sit atop the Western Conference.

Randle hit two buckets and Brunson a floater around a layup by Jokic to give the Knicks the lead at 112-110. Both teams had empty possessions and Brunson made two free throws with 43.4 seconds left to increase New York’s lead to four. Jokic missed a 3-pointer and Brunson fed Mitchell Robinson for an alley-oop to seal it.

Magic 113, Clippers 108

Wendell Carter Jr. scored 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, Markelle Fultz added a team-high 28 points and Orlando dominated the fourth quarter en route to a defeat of host Los Angeles.

After sputtering through a 17-point third quarter in which Los Angeles surged ahead to an eight-point lead, the Magic appeared headed for a third straight loss. However, a 39-26 fourth quarter flipped the contest around. Orlando shot 15 of 25 in the period.

Los Angeles played without Kawhi Leonard for the first time since its last loss, a March 3 defeat at Sacramento. Leonard scored 30-plus points in three of the Clippers’ four straight wins preceding Saturday’s defeat. Paul George took up the slack, scoring a game-high 30 points. Ivica Zubac added 16 points and 16 rebounds.

Raptors 122, Timberwolves 107

Pascal Siakam had 27 points and 10 rebounds, Fred VanVleet scored 28 points and Toronto defeated visiting Minnesota.

Jakob Poeltl added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Raptors, who have won three in a row overall and seven straight at home. Gary Trent Jr. scored 19 points off the bench for Toronto. O.G. Anunoby scored 15 points and Scottie Barnes contributed 10.

Anthony Edwards (right ankle sprain) did not play for the Timberwolves, who have lost three in a row. Edwards was injured Friday night in a double-overtime loss to the Chicago Bulls. Naz Reid scored 22 points for the Timberwolves, and Rudy Gobert added 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Bulls 113, Heat 99

One night after pulling out a double-overtime thriller, Chicago turned around and scored a win over visiting Miami, its fourth victory in the last five games.

DeMar DeRozan led the way with 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor. He also dished 10 assists and contributed on defense with three steals. Zach LaVine complemented DeRozan’s season-high 49 points on Friday with 39. His output Saturday was lower, but he was again second to DeRozan with 18 points.

Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 24 points, Bam Adebayo added 23 and Max Strus scored 20 points off the bench. Herro finished with 15 points, but also committed six turnovers in the loss.

Grizzlies 133, Warriors 119

Jaren Jackson Jr. matched his season high of 31 points and contributed seven rebounds and four blocked shots as Memphis sent visiting Golden State to its 11th straight road loss.

Desmond Bane scored 26 points and Dillon Brooks added 18 for the Grizzlies, who remained tied for second in the Western Conference with the Sacramento Kings. Tyus Jones matched his career best of 14 assists while scoring 13 points without a turnover for Memphis.

Jonathan Kuminga scored 24 points and Jordan Poole added 21 for the Warriors, who lost their third straight game and hold the first play-in spot in the West. Golden State’s Stephen Curry had just 16 points on 5-of-15 shooting, and fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson had 14 on 6-of-17 shooting.

–Field Level Media

With their charge up the Western Conference standings stunted by a current two-game losing streak, the Los Angeles Lakers have a chance to get back on track Sunday with a visit from the Orlando Magic.

The Lakers appeared to have Dallas figured out Friday but a Maxi Kleber leaning 3-pointer at the buzzer gave the Mavericks a 111-110 victory. Los Angeles did not make a field goal in the final three minutes and were outscored 9-3 over the final 2:48.

Anthony Davis had 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers, but he fouled Kleber on a 3-point attempt with 7.2 seconds remaining. Kleber drained all three free throws and Davis made just one of two free throws less than a second later.

“At the end of the day, there’s nothing we can do about it, to be honest. It happened,” Davis said. “Our focus is now Sunday, trying to get a win against Orlando. But this one is tough, the way it ended.”

Los Angeles (34-37) got back into playoff contention with an 8-3 run from Feb. 15 to March 14, as most of that turnaround came after LeBron James departed with a foot injury. The two-game skid has now made the Lakers’ play-in tournament hopes more difficult while providing a blow to their goal of finishing in the top six in the conference.

“We can’t get overwhelmed where we got 12 (games) left and we gotta get to that number (of wins), and you start overlooking things,” Lakers head coach Darvin Ham said. “Our priority has been to stay in the moment and take ’em one at a time.”

The Lakers have 11 games left now, with seven of the next eight against teams that do not hold a top-six spot in their respective conference.

The first of those winnable games is against the Magic (29-42), who are out of playoff contention in the Eastern Conference. But Orlando just pulled off a 113-108 road victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

The victory came after the Magic lost six of their previous eight games and was against a top-five team in the West. Markelle Fultz scored 12 of his career-high 28 points in the fourth quarter to fuel a rally from an eight-point deficit to open the final period.

Wendell Carter Jr. had 27 points and 12 rebounds, while Franz Wagner had 20 points and a 3-pointer with 41 seconds remaining to provide enough cushion for the victory.

Fultz, who played in just 26 games over the previous two seasons because of shoulder and knee injuries, has scored at least 20 points in four of his past nine games and in consecutive games for the first time this season.

“I’m so proud of this young man just for the fact that everything he’s constantly endured,” Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley said. “He never walks in the building without a smile on his face. You see there’s such a level of joy in his heart for playing the game of basketball. That’s what shows up.”

The teams are meeting for the first time since Dec. 27 when the Lakers pulled off a 129-110 victory behind 28 points from James. Davis was in the midst of a 20-game absence because of a right foot injury.

–Field Level Media