Detroit Leads Indiana In Best Of 7

[Diamond Girl]

Pacers get beat down in Motown

Now face pair of must-wins to save season

By Larry Lage

Associated Press


AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – The Detroit Pistons played like champions with swarming, relentless defense and unselfish offense.

Ben Wallace had 19 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks to lead Detroit to an 86-67 victory Tuesday night over the Indiana Pacers, and a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series.

The defending NBA champs can close out the pesky Pacers on Thursday night in Indianapolis.

The Pistons held Indiana without a field goal for a stretch of 10:39 – including the first 6:26 of the second half – turning a tie game into a 22-point advantage. The 30-4 run by Detroit over the second and third quarters turned the game into a rout.

“I think it’s probably one of our best performances,” Wallace said. “When we play like that, we’re a tough team to beat.”<br>
Of the previous 123 best-of-seven series tied 2-2, the winner of Game 5 advanced 103 times (84 percent).

“This is going to be a true test of our will,” Indiana’s Jermaine O’Neal said. “If we can’t win a game on our home court, we better be ready for next season.”<br>
Indiana coach Rick Carlisle used all four of his second-half timeouts in the third quarter, trying to slow down the Pistons.

It didn’t work.

The outcome was a foregone conclusion by the fourth quarter, but the final few minutes provided a couple of oddly entertaining moments.

League rules require that each team calls a timeout in the fourth quarter, but because Carlisle didn’t have any left, the Pacers were called for a technical foul with 2:17 left.

“I’ve never seen that. It blew me away,” Pistons coach Larry Brown said. “I asked (official) Joe Crawford if he’s ever seen it, and he said he hadn’t in his 28 years.”<br>
“It wasn’t that big of a deal,” Carlisle said of the quick second-half timeouts. “But at the time, I felt like if we were going to have a chance to stay in it, we needed to stop the game.”<br>
O’Neal had 14 points and Stephen Jackson scored 12 for the Pacers.

Reggie Miller was held to eight points – his third single-digit scoring game of the series – and Jamaal Tinsley scored just two.

Tayshaun Prince had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Pistons, Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton each scored 13 and Rasheed Wallace added 10.

Detroit’s reserves – led by Antonio McDyess and Carlos Arroyo – keyed a 15-2 run late in the first half, giving the Pistons a 42-33 lead.

“Things kind of snowballed from there,” Carlisle said.

The Pistons’ starters – all back from last year’s title run – put Indiana away with a 15-0 burst to start the second half.

Detroit dominated because it was scrappy and aggressive when the Pacers had the ball and it spread the floor and shared the ball at the other end of the court.

“They’re quick to the ball. They rotate. They help each other,” Miller said. “Against a team with that many offensive weapons, you have to limit their possessions, and we didn’t do that.”<br>
The Pistons had 22 offensive rebounds, leading to 25 second-chance points, and outrebounded Indiana overall 52-34.

The Pistons outscored Indiana 27-11 in the third quarter, taking a 69-46 lead. The Pacers pulled within 20 early in the fourth, then Detroit scored eight straight points.

“We’re disappointed, but not distraught,” Carlisle said.

“We know what we have to do. We faced an elimination game less than two weeks ago (at Boston) and our guys fought and won a Game 7 on the road.”<br>

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Eastern Semifinals

Game 1: Detroit 96, Indiana 81

Game 2: Indiana 92, Detroit 83

Game 3: Indiana 79, Detroit 74

Game 4: Detroit 89, Indiana 76

Game 5: Detroit 86, Indiana 67

Game 6, at Indiana

7 p.m., Thursday (ABC)

Game 7, at Detroit*

TBA Sunday

*If necessary

[Emerald City]

Well alrighty then!

[Motown Honey]

It's all OVER, now :holla:

Detroit closed it out last night :givemesome:

Detroit in 6 :hype:

[Diamond Girl]

And now Miami :whistle:

Let's pull another series out Motortown :raisetheroof:

[Motown Honey]

Detroit has a one point lead over Miami, second quarter

[Motown Honey]

MIAMI - The defending champions kept finding mismatches and exploiting them. The challengers kept finding themselves playing from behind, and they simply couldn't cope.

Whether it was Tayshaun Prince outsizing Dwyane Wade, Rasheed Wallace taking his man outside or Chauncey Billups getting the better of Damon Jones, the Detroit Pistons played calmly and intelligently for 48 minutes and defeated the Miami Heat 90-81 Monday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Miami had Shaquille O'Neal back in its lineup after waiting almost until tip-off to find out whether he could play on his bruised right thigh, and he opened the game by making his first four shots.

But Detroit's defense kept the Heat from running their offense through O'Neal for the rest of the game, and the big man wasn't all that much of a factor while scoring 20 points on 9-for-14 shooting with five rebounds.

Wade also wasn't much of a factor for the Heat, scoring just 16 points on 7-for-25 shooting while being frustrated for much of the night by Prince's defense.

Rasheed Wallace scored 20 points, Billups added 18, Richard Hamilton had 16, and Ben Wallace and Prince each scored 13 as all five Detroit starters reached double figures.

Game 2 is Wednesday night in Miami.

The loss was the first for the Heat in nine postseason games, and their first of any kind since April 15. Coming off nine days of rest since they finished off the Washington Wizards in the second round, the Heat were far from sharp and not all that smart with their shot selection.

O'Neal's foul shot with 4:36 remaining was Miami's final point.

``We didn't shut them down. We just wanted it a little bit more,'' Rasheed Wallace said. ``There's no homecourt advantage just like with Indiana. We still have to go out and play. We have one more here.''

Ben Wallace was the catalyst as the Pistons started to break the game open early in the third quarter.

After hitting a 12-footer and then drawing O'Neal's first foul, Wallace was left wide open for an 18-foot jumper that he also knocked down. He then stole the ball from O'Neal in the low post, leading to a possession on which Prince was isolated against Wade on the left wing and worked his way inside for a short bank shot. Wade turned to his bench after the shot and gave a dejected, helpless look.

Ben Wallace then blocked a jumper by Udonis Haslem as the 24-second shot clock was about to expire, and Rasheed Wallace hit a 15-footer to make it 52-43. The jitters really started to get to the Heat after that, their possessions looking more panicked and never getting better.

Miami finally caught the Pistons with a 9-0 run that tied it at 80 with 5:10 left, but Detroit calmly went back to what had been working. In this case, the Pistons decided to test Jones' ability to defend Billups - and quickly discovered he couldn't.

Billups backed down Jones and scored easily to make it 82-80, then used a quick first step to get past Jones for a mid-range jumper that upped the lead to three.

Miami stayed in it as Detroit missed shots on three consecutive possessions, but that stretch ended when Rasheed Wallace blocked a jumper by Haslem and saved the ball from going out of bounds, leading to a jumper off a screen by Hamilton that made it 86-81 with 1:19 left.

Billups' jumper with 17 seconds left ended all doubt.

O'Neal, defended in single coverage by Ben Wallace, made his first four shots before going to the bench with 6:36 left in the first quarter with the Heat ahead 15-13. Rasheed Wallace went 3-for-3 from 3-point range in the quarter, which ended with Miami ahead 25-24.

Wade had trouble freeing himself from Prince early in the game, and when he found himself being guarded by Hamilton in the second quarter he seemed to be trying to do too much. Wade missed three consecutive shots - one a layup - late in the second quarter to drop to 2-for-12 from the field, and Billups gave Detroit its biggest lead of the game to that point on a 3-pointer from the corner that put the Pistons ahead 42-37.

Miami came back and scored the next six points before Ben Wallace put back his own miss to give the Pistons a 44-43 halftime lead.

Notes: Haslem, who dislocated his left middle finger at practice Sunday, aggravated the injury late in the third quarter. He went to the bench, and the crowd cheered as coach Stan Van Gundy made the rare move of sending Alonzo Mourning in to play alongside O'Neal. ... Billups and Jones, both strong foul shooters, each missed a free throw following defensive 3-second technical fouls in the first half.


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[Diamond Girl]

That's what I'm talkin' about :friends:

[Motown Honey]

Hold on to your bottles


**************************************************************************************************
Heat 92, Pistons 86

MIAMI - They call him ``Flash,'' and Dwyane Wade certainly performed like a superhero in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Miami's up-and-coming superstar had yet another impressive postseason performance Wednesday night, rediscovering his aggressiveness and taking over in the fourth quarter by scoring 20 of his 40 points as the Heat defeated the Detroit Pistons 92-86 to even the best-of-seven series.

This was the type of effort the Heat had grown accustomed to receiving from the 23-year-old during their consecutive sweeps of New Jersey and Washington in the first two rounds of the playoffs, and Wade was able to summon another burst of brilliance to avoid having his team head to Detroit down 2-0.

Wade scored 14 of Miami's first 16 points in the final quarter, then raced in from behind and came up with a crucial blocked shot of Chauncey Billups' 3-point attempt to help the Heat hold off the defending NBA champions.

``I watched a lot of film, listened to a lot of people and used everything my college coach and NBA coach told me, too,'' said Wade, who shot 7-for-25 in Game 1. ``They told me to come back with a good game. I was rushing some shots. I wasn't being patient. Tonight I came out patient.''

The series resumes Sunday night, each team having asserted itself once.

Wade eclipsed 30 points for the sixth time this postseason. Shaquille O'Neal added 17 points and 10 rebounds for Miami, and Damon Jones had 14 points.

Richard Hamilton scored 21 points and Tayshaun Prince had 17 for the Pistons, who came back from a 14-point deficit but were helpless to stop Wade when he decided it was time to take over.

``Dwyane has always been able to put things behind him and make adjustments. He's very mature, and he's not going to get beat mentally,'' coach Stan Van Gundy had predicted.

Wade's fourth-quarter outburst started as he opened the period with a bank shot and a driving dunk before O'Neal hit a jump hook. Wade scored Miami's next 10 points on a tip-in, two 14-footers, a drive into the lane and an alley-oop dunk, the last of which put the Heat ahead 78-76 with 5:12 left.

Detroit tied it once more before O'Neal converted a three-point play with 3:59 remaining to make it 81-78 and put the Heat ahead for good.

After Alonzo Mourning blocked a shot by Ben Wallace, Wade converted a fast-break layup for a five-point lead and Mourning added two free throws with 3:18 left to make it 85-78. A basket by Billups and a miss by Wade gave Detroit a chance to pull within two, but Wade came up behind Billups and swatted away his 3-point attempt - a play that led to a fast-break layup by Jones that made it 87-80.

The Pistons scored the next four points and had one more chance to tie, but Rasheed Wallace missed a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left - one of 14 misses from behind the arc for the Pistons on a night when they fell too much in love with the long shot.

Detroit made its comeback from a 14-point deficit by hitting five 3-pointers in the third quarter, and the Pistons eventually made seven straight 3s while enduring a stretch of nearly 12 minutes without a 2-pointer.

Wade was more aggressive going to the basket right from the start, and he ended the first quarter with eight points, four assists and two rebounds to help Miami to a 24-23 lead. The game began turning the Heat's way in the second quarter as Detroit shot just 5-for-20 with six turnovers - four by Billups after he also had four in the first quarter.

Damon Jones went 3-for-3 from the field in the second quarter, including 2-for-2 on 3-pointers, and Eddie Jones also hit a 3 as Miami outscored the Pistons 23-13 in the period for a 46-37 halftime lead.

Detroit coach Larry Brown kept Prince on the bench for the entire second quarter, and Rasheed Wallace played only 2 minutes in the quarter.

Prince hit a 3-pointer midway though the third quarter to help Detroit get within five, and Hamilton ended an 0-for-8 slump by hitting a 3-pointer later in the quarter. The Pistons' final five field goals of the quarter came from 3-point range, including a shot by Lindsey Hunter that rattled in with 5.3 seconds left in the period, ending an 11-1 run, to put Detroit ahead 63-62.

Notes: Brown, responding to a published report suggesting he might want to leave the Pistons after this season and become Cleveland's president of basketball operations, said he has never spoken to Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert. Brown said he would like to remain Detroit's coach - but only if he's able to overcome a health problem he plans to address as soon as the season ends. ... The teams combined for 46 free throws - 23 each - after attempting only 22 in Game 1. ... Billups' eight turnovers was three shy of the NBA playoff record set by John Williamson of the New Jersey Nets against Philadelphia on April 11, 1979.

[Diamond Girl]

I hope you're ready to cheer ((Mo)) :cheer:

LET'S GO, DETROIT ... LET'S GO!

:holla: :raisetheroof: :holla:

[Motown Honey]

JazzySoul said:

I hope you're ready to cheer ((Mo))

LET'S GO, DETROIT ... LET'S GO!

I sure am...Tomorrow :laughing:

[Emerald City]

Motown said:

I sure am...Tomorrow

The Big D better kick some butt!!

[Motown Honey]

HitsvilleSoul said:

The Big D better kick some butt!!

I know that's right :bowdown:

[Diamond Girl]

DAGNABIT

*************************************************************************************************
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - The final score showed that the Heat defeated the Pistons. The story of the game, however, was how the Pistons beat themselves.

On a night when Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal were better in the first half than they were in the final two quarters, the Heat didn't need either of them to be the key factor in their 113-104 victory over Detroit on Sunday night for a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

Instead, Detroit got upset with the officiating and lost its cool, and Miami was more than happy to watch the Pistons self-destruct.

``We're too good of a team to have a meltdown like we had tonight,'' Detroit's Richard Hamilton said. ``This late in the season, the Eastern Conference finals, we can't afford to have those types of letdowns. We let little ticky-tack stuff bother us, and we can't do that.''

The Heat scored 11 points from the foul line during a 13-4 run that put them ahead for good midway through the fourth quarter, and the Pistons lost control to such a degree that Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups drew technical fouls in the fourth quarter for screaming in disgust at the officials.

Pistons coach Larry Brown got in on the act, too, venting his displeasure with sarcastic shouts after the game had slipped away from his team.

Billups eventually fouled out, and Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess all finished with five fouls apiece.

``It wasn't the Heat. They played well, but they aren't what got under our skin,'' Billups said.

The statistics did not show too much of a disparity in the calls - Detroit was whistled for 33 fouls to Miami's 29, and the Pistons went to the line 54 times to the Heat's 43.

But there was several moments that infuriated the Pistons and their fans, including a pair of very late whistles that sent Wade to the line in the first half, and numerous non-calls on the inside - one of which Billups emerged from with a bloody nose.

``We kind of lost our poise,'' Brown said, ``and as a result of that we dug ourselves a hole with a chance to win.''

Miami attempted 29 free throws in the fourth quarter alone, making 22. Jones was 6-for-6 in the period, and Wade was 6-for-8.

Wade scored 21 of his 36 points in the first half, getting limited in the final 24 minutes by Lindsey Hunter's defense and some foul trouble of his own.

But Wade was able to hit a jumper over Tayshaun Prince with 2:46 left, shortly after checking back in for the final time, to give Miami a 102-93 lead that made the crowd begin scurrying for the exits.

O'Neal finished with 24 points and Eddie Jones had 19. O'Neal made his first six foul shots of the fourth quarter and finished 8-for-12 from the line.

``I'm just getting better and better,'' O'Neal said. ``It's just like a bunch of worker bees protecting the king bee, because I'm not a queen bee. I'm a king bee.''

Hamilton led Detroit with 33, while Billups struggled from the field by shooting 6-for-19. The Pistons missed 15 of their 43 free throws.

``I told him before the game we really needed him,'' Wade said of O'Neal, who was slowed by a bruised thigh and was not a huge offensive factor for Miami in Games 1 and 2. ``He knew we needed him and this is where we needed him the most - on the road in a hostile environment. And he stepped up big for us. He hit big free throws down the stretch.

``That's the kind of player he is, and it was a great win for us.''

Game 4 is Tuesday night.

O'Neal hit his first four shots over the first 8 1/2 minutes of the first quarter, and he was visibly angry - waving his hand dismissively at coach Stan Van Gundy and yelling ``No!'' before relenting and going to the bench - when he was subbed out for the first time with the score 17-17.

O'Neal's first two fouls came in rapid succession midway through the second quarter, but the Heat lost nothing - thanks to Wade - when their big man went to the bench.

Wade knocked down two jumpers on Miami's first two possessions after O'Neal left, and the gasps from the crowd kept getting louder as Wade kept doing whatever he pleased on offense - whether by driving through traffic and scoring underneath, or pulling up from the outside for jumpers. He was 7-for-7 in the period before finally missed a shot with 8 seconds left before halftime.

Miami led 53-51 at the break behind 21 points from Wade and 14 from O'Neal on 7-for-8 shooting.When O'Neal fed Udonis Haslem for a jumper that gave Miami its largest lead to that point, 73-63, O'Neal had five assists - more than anyone on either team.

Detroit pulled to 78-75 by the end of the third quarter, and Billups hit a free throw after a technical foul against Alonzo Mourning to produce a 79-79 tie with 10:56 left. The run in the quarter reached 9-0 and gave Detroit an 84-79 lead, but Miami responded by scoring 10 of the next 14 points.

``We kept our poise, man. We didn't lose it,'' said Jones, who was Miami's leading scorer in the fourth quarter with 11 points.

``We got some techs, too,'' Wade said, ``but we just didn't get them at the end.''

Notes: Brown would not comment on a report out of Cleveland that he must decide by Monday whether to accept the position of Cavaliers team president. The Cavs received permission earlier this month to speak to Brown's representatives, but Brown had said he'll wait until 2-3 days after Detroit's season ends to decide whether he'll return as coach of the Pistons. ... Van Gundy acknowledged ``it probably wasn't'' the best idea to call Pistons fans (along with Knicks fans) ``the absolute nastiest people. They're not just loud. These people will say and do anything.''
**************************************************************************************************
Heat 113, Pistons 104

[Motown Honey]

Pistons 106, Heat 96


**************************************************************************************************
Larry Brown's uncertain future was not a distraction to the Detroit Pistons. On the contrary, it was barely in their thoughts.

Detroit ensured that the Eastern Conference finals will last at least six games, getting a big performance from Richard Hamilton on both ends of the court to defeat the Miami Heat 106-96 Tuesday night in Game 4 of their best-of-seven series.

Bouncing back strongly from a 2-1 deficit just as they did in the second round against Indiana, the Pistons took the lead for good after Shaquille O'Neal got into foul trouble midway through the first quarter and knotted the series 2-2 heading into Game 5 on Thursday night in Miami.

Game 6 will be Saturday on Detroit's court in what could be Brown's last home game as coach of the Pistons.

The 64-year-old Brown has met with the Cleveland Cavaliers about becoming their president of basketball operations, though he continued to insist Tuesday that he would like to continue coaching if his health allows it.

``We've got bigger things. We're worried about the Miami Heat, not what the coach is doing or whatever,'' Detroit guard Chauncey Billups said. ``We don't care about that now, we're trying to win the series, trying to defend our championship, not worry about what's going on after the season.''

The performance was the Pistons' most dominant of the series after they lost Games 2 and 3.

Detroit did not have a single turnover in the first half, never let Dwyane Wade get into a scoring groove - thanks in large part to Hamilton's defense - and was never seriously challenged in the fourth quarter.

``We're in much better shape than we were after the other night. We all felt this would be a great series, and hopefully that's the case,'' Brown said. ``We have to find a way to win one game on the road and take care of our own court.''

Hamilton scored 28 points, Rasheed Wallace added 20, Billups had 17 and the Pistons finished with six turnovers. The lopsided result even allowed little-used forward Darko Milicic to see his first playing time of the series - the final 93 seconds.

``For the night, their four main guys that they look to offensively, we didn't do a good job on any of them,'' Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said. ``Just a great, great game by them. A very complete effort on their part.''

O'Neal, limited by foul trouble to 8 minutes in the first half, had 12 points and five rebounds. Wade had 28 points on 10-for-22 shooting as Brown made a switch and used Hamilton instead of Tayshaun Prince as the primary defender on the Heat's second-year guard.

``I got every shot I wanted. I hit some and I missed some, so it wasn't a big thing to me at all,'' Wade said.

Detroit also handed Miami its first road loss of the postseason. The Heat had been 5-0 against New Jersey, Washington and the Pistons.

O'Neal picked up his second foul just 6:14 into the first quarter with the score 11-11, and the Heat were behind 32-25 when he returned 2 1/2 minutes into the second quarter.

O'Neal's third foul came just over 2 minutes later when he was called for bumping Hamilton on a drive. O'Neal protested that he had his arms straight up, then frowned at the referee who made the call, Jack Nies, as he exited for the rest of the half.

Miami had a 13-3 run to pull to 46-42, but things went bad for the Heat after O'Neal's backup, Alonzo Mourning, drew his third foul with 3:30 left. Hamilton scored six points and Billups had four as Detroit closed the half with a 14-4 run for a 60-46 lead.

Wade had just 10 points at the half as Hamilton did a superb job keeping him out of his rhythm.

``We just wanted to change up,'' Brown said. ``The kid's a great, great player. You can't always give them the same look.''

O'Neal's fourth foul came with 3:05 left in the third quarter after Miami had pulled to 70-65, and the Heat entered the fourth quarter trailing 79-69. A 3-pointer by Damon Jones pulled the Heat to 84-75 with 7:51 left, but Prince hit a short jump-hook to start a 9-1 run that made it 93-76.

``We're obviously a better team with him in the game, but we can't worry about 'What if the big fella didn't get in foul trouble,' and stuff like that,'' Heat forward Udonis Haslem said. ``We didn't play team defense.''

Earlier Tuesday, Brown was unusually defensive and testy in reacting to a report on ESPN.com that he already had agreed to become president of the Cavaliers.

Brown has three years remaining on a five-year contract, but the Pistons have made it clear they would not stand in Brown's way if he wants to secure a position with another club in case his health prevents him from coaching.

``All my players ever ask is how I'm feeling,'' Brown said. ``They know I want to coach, that's what I do. Could you imagine me not coaching?''

The players have regarded the rumors surrounding Brown as more of an annoyance than a distraction, though it is clear they aren't too happy with the timing of the revelations about Brown possibly leaving for Cleveland.

``We've been in this situation before,'' Prince said. ``The stakes are higher now, but we dealt with this during the season with New York and those rumors. The only difference now is that we're in the Eastern Conference finals. We're a mature team and we know how to handle it.''

Notes: O'Neal did not speak to reporters after the game. ... The 1999-2000 Los Angeles Lakers were the only team in NBA history to go unbeaten on the road in the postseason (8-0). ... Detroit avoided falling behind 3-1, a deficit only seven of 159 teams have recovered from in postseason history. ... Commissioner David Stern attended the game.

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[Diamond Girl]

Miami 88, Detroit 76


Dang it :doh: