Kobe Bryant scored 30 points and helped the Los Angeles Lakers score the last 20 points of the third quarter in a 92-77 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday. The Western Conference-leading Lakers have won four straight games to pull within a victory of Cleveland's NBA-high total of 58, and five in a row on the road for a league-high 26. Detroit reserve Will Bynum had career highs with 25 points and 11 assists and helped the Pistons outscore the Lakers 30-14 in the second quarter to lead 42-39. The Pistons built a 10-point lead early in the second half and were ahead by five midway through the third quarter when Bryant made a layup and Trevor Ariza had consecutive putback dunks to spark a 20-0 run. The Lakers snapped a nine-game losing streak at The Palace, including three losses in the 2004 NBA Finals. Bulls 106, Heat 87: At Chicago, John Salmons scored 27 points as Chicago beat Miami for its sixth win in seven games and moved into a seventh-place tie with Detroit in the Eastern Conference. Trail Blazers 129, Suns 109: At Portland, Oregon, LaMarcus Aldridge scored a season-high 29 points and added 12 rebounds to help Portland end Phoenix's winning streak at six. Fields' baskets send Pitt past Xavier Levance Fields gave Pittsburgh the lead with a 3-pointer with 50.9 seconds left, then scored off his steal as the Panthers advanced to the regional finals for the first time in 35 years with a 60-55 win over Xavier on Thursday. Top-seeded Pittsburgh (31-4) trailed 54-52 before Fields made the go-ahead shot. The star point guard followed by poking the ball away from B.J. Raymond and going in for a layup with 23.9 seconds to go. Villanova 77, Duke 54: Dante Cunningham scored 14 points with 11 rebounds as third-seeded Villanova beat Duke for the first time in more than 50 years, taking advantage of the Blue Devils' poor shooting to win. Connecticut 72, Purdue 60: At Glendale, Arizona, Hasheem Thabeet scored 15 points, had 15 rebounds and blocked four shots as top-seeded Connecticut overcame a sluggish first half to beat Purdue in the West Regional semifinals. UConn jumped out to an early 11-point lead, then went cold and let the fifth-seeded Boilermakers (27-10) claw back into the game. Missouri 102, Memphis 91: J.T. Tiller scored a career-high 23 points and third-seeded Missouri beat Memphis to move within one win of its first trip to the Final Four.
