That welcome sign in the Detroit airport wasn't made specifically for the Miami Heat. But it seemed everyone in Detroit was happy to see the Heat arrive.

The Pistons had lost seven in a row entering Sunday's game at The Palace, and perhaps only the Chicago Bulls would have been a more welcome sight. A Detroit radio sports talk-show host even guaranteed a win by the Pistons.

The sad truth is, Miami has become the doormat of the league. And it lived up to that label against Detroit, helping the Pistons snap their losing streak and extending its own to five games with an 86-80 loss, tying the Bulls for the worst record in the league (5-23).

"We can't kid ourselves. We are who we are," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "And in order for us to win, we have to get better."

Not only get better from one game to the next, but better from one quarter to the next. The Heat have been doing just the opposite all season, regressing as the game goes on and giving in when the opposition steps up its defense.

Brian Grant and Alonzo Mourning combined to score 40 points on 17-of-19 shooting, but only five of those shot attempts came in the second half as Miami deferred to a more active Detroit defense.

"When a defense begins to push on you and pressure you and front you and make it hard for you to move, then you have to execute harder, you have to be tougher, you have to drive the ball hard, you have to make plays," Riley said. "We start some games doing everything we know we should do. Then we revert back to non-execution, sort of selfish play, poor spacing, make offensive fouls. It just keeps adding up. It seems as though as the game progresses, we lose a focus. That's what we do. That's why we're who we are."

Once the Pistons took away Mourning and Grant, the Heat were left relying on an off-target Eddie Jones (6-of-16 from the field) and a bench that combined to make just 3-of-22 field goals, with Eddie House (1-of-11) leading the way.

After falling behind by as many as 11 points in the third quarter, Miami quickly closed to within three at 56-53 with five minutes remaining in the period. But the Heat missed their next five shots as Detroit went on an 8-0 run to build the lead right back up to 11.

"I think sometimes we tend to get a little discouraged, and then we end up having another great run," said Jones, who finished with 15 points. "The thing is to just stay strong, and if something happens wrong, you do your best to play through it."

Despite his 18-point, 10-rebound night, Mourning found himself contributing to the Heat's undoing.

"There were a couple times where I broke the play," Mourning said. "I was supposed to roll one time and didn't roll. Sometimes guys aren't getting the plays. There are turnovers, mindless turnovers. If we get random, that's when we get in trouble -- especially down the stretch."

Sunday's loss was the 10th in 13 games for the Heat during the month of December. They play Indiana tonight.

It was easy for Riley to pinpoint many of Miami's mistakes because the Pistons defense is similar to the Heat's. What he saw was the same passive team he's seen all season.

"They don't have a lot of tricks, a lot of gimmicks, they just come at you real hard and play you hard," Riley said. "So from an offensive standpoint you have to play with force and you have to make the play that's there.

"We don't have bad players, but right now we have a team that's playing bad. We don't execute."