The Pistons (34-35) have played 15 Sunday games this season and lost 13.

This loss has to rank among the more painful ones.

The Pistons led most of the game, but after squandering the lead, managed to inch ahead 96-95 with 13 seconds left after a 3-pointer by Walter Herrmann.

Miami guard Mario Chalmers missed a driving layup, but the Pistons were unable to get the loose ball. Eventually, it wound up in the hands of Udonis Haslem, who nailed a 9-foot jumper to put the Heat on top, 97-96.

After a Pistons' timeout with 6 seconds to play, Rodney Stuckey drove into the lane for a potential game-winning basket.

Dwyane Wade blocked the shot and secured the loose ball, then passed it to Haslem, who was fouled.

"I knew that they were going to run that same play," said Wade, who had a game-high 39 points. "I told Stuckey on the way out of the timeout that they are going to run that same play again and he said, 'No it's a different play.' But I knew his tendencies. I know that he is good going right and is strong and can put his shoulder into you. I just stayed solid and didn't get into his shot fakes and was able to get the block."

Pistons coach Michael Curry, upset that the contact Wade had with Stuckey was not called a foul, picked up back-to-back technical fouls from official Tony Brothers.

Haslem made both free throws, and two more for being fouled.

To make matters worse, a replay showed Wade was out of bounds after he blocked Stuckey's shot, which meant the Pistons would have had possession of the ball with at least 0.6 seconds to play.

Although Curry was visibly upset after the game with the officiating, he refused to dwell on it after the loss.

"I thought (Stuckey) got fouled, but no call ... ball game," Curry said.

When asked later about the game's officiating, Curry said, "I'm not getting into that. I just thought on that one play, Stuckey drove and I thought he got fouled."

Stuckey agreed.

"I thought I went to the basket aggressively, and (Wade) had 10 of his fingers on me and they didn't call the foul," Stuckey said. "That's how it goes sometimes."

However, the Pistons never should have let the game get so close, depending on one or two calls to determine the outcome.

What really hurt the Pistons was a fourth-quarter stretch in which the Heat went on a 7-0 run to take their first lead of the game, 91-89, after a pair of free throws by Wade with 1:52 to play.

"I thought during that stretch the difference was they made a couple of shots," Curry said.

Before Wade's go-ahead free throws, Jamario Moon hit a 3-pointer and Wade got a steal that led to an uncontested dunk that tied the game at 89.

The Pistons were playing on their heels for the rest of the game with Wade leading the way.

"Dwyane was sensational, that's our MVP," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "That's what he's been doing for us all year."

The same could be said for the Pistons when it comes to losing games on Sundays.