Los Angeles  - Andre Miller and the Philadelphia 76ers are going back to the playoffs. The Detroit Pistons are going backward in the standings.

Miller had a triple-double and Andre Iguodala scored a season-high 31 points Saturday as the host 76ers clinched a postseason berth with a 95-90 victory over the struggling Pistons.

Miller collected 21 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds for his ninth career-triple-double for Philadelphia (40-35), which has notched consecutive playoff trips for the first time since making five in a row from 1999-2003.

"That was my goal before the season even started," Miller said. "Things didn't go the way we wanted to at the start of the season but we picked it up."

The Sixers fired coach Maurice Cheeks in December and replaced him with assistant general manager Tony DiLeo, who never had coached in the NBA. They dropped to 13-20 and lost star forward Elton Brand to injury before turning around their season.

"The team fights; they never give up," DiLeo said. "We have goals and it's special to make the playoffs, but we have to continue. We can't relax."

The Sixers could not relax against the desperate Pistons, who are trying to secure the Eastern Conference's final playoff berth. Philadelphia was down seven points early in the fourth quarter and still trailed, 88-87, with 2:17 to play after two free throws by Detroit's Rodney Stuckey, who scored 23 points.

Miller answered with two foul shots to give the Sixers the lead for good, then added another for a 90-88 lead with 58 seconds left. Stuckey missed a 3-pointer, and the Pistons fouled Reggie Evans, a 61 percent foul shooter who made both for a four-point lead.

"Reggie's free throws all season have steadily improved, but to make them in a pressure situation like that, that says volumes," DiLeo said.

Stuckey made two free throws but Miller again answered with two from the line. He completed his triple-double with a rebound in the final seconds.

"I knew I was close," Miller said. "The rebound just fell in my hand. I wasn't going to fight anybody for the rebound."

Miller padded his assists with several alley-oop passes for dunks by Iguodala, who made 13-of-19 shots.

"We gave (Iguodala) four backdoor lobs," said Pistons coach Michael Curry, whose team has lost nine of its last 12 games. "The key with him is to keep him in front of you."

One day after announcing that disgruntled star guard Allen Iverson would miss the rest of the season with a sore back, Detroit (36-40) fell behind Chicago into eighth place in the East. The once-proud Pistons are just two games ahead of Charlotte, which visits Detroit on Sunday.

"(That) game is even more important than this one," Pistons guard Richard Hamilton said. "We definitely need to get a win."

Lou Williams scored 15 points and fellow reserve Marreese Speights had 10 for Philadelphia, which swept a three-game homestand and moved within two games of fourth-place Atlanta (43-34) in the East.

Hamilton and Kwame Brown had 15 points each for Detroit, which shot just 27 percent in the second half.

Orlando 88, Atlanta 82=

Dwight Howard had 21 points, 23 rebounds and four blocks for the visiting Magic, who have won eight of nine and are one-half game behind Boston for second in the East. Joe Johnson scored 21 points for the Hawks, who have lost three in a row.

Miami 118, Washington 104=

Dwyane Wade scored 33 points for the Heat (41-36), who made eight three-pointers in the fourth quarter and remained percentage points behind Philadelphia in the East. Caron Butler scored 27 for the host Wizards.

Chicago 103, New Jersey 94=

Ben Gordon scored five of his 18 points in a closing 10-0 spurt to lift the host Bulls (37-40) past the Pistons into seventh place in the East. The Nets have lost six of seven.

Denver 120, LA Clippers 104=

Red-hot J. R. Smith made seven three-pointers and scored 34 points as the host Nuggets (51-26) solidified their hold on second place in the West with their sixth consecutive win. The Clippers have lost four straight games.

Toronto 102, New York 95=

Italy's Andrea Bargnani scored 23 points and Spain's Jose Calderon added 15 as the visiting Raptors won their season-high sixth straight game and eliminated the Knicks from playoff contention.

Memphis 107, Milwaukee 102=

Rudy Gay scored 26 points and Spanish rookie Marc Gasol added 19 and 10 boards to lead the visiting Grizzlies to their season-high fourth straight win. The Bucks have dropped eight of nine. (dpa)