AUBURN HILLS, Michigan, 3 June 2004 — Look out, Shaquille O’Neal. Beware, Kobe Bryant. There is a masked man who is going to try and swipe a National Basketball Association title right from the grasp of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Richard Hamilton, who wears a clear plastic mask to protect a broken nose suffered earlier this season, shrugged off a forearm to the face to spark the Detroit Pistons past Indiana Pacers 69-65 here Tuesday and into the NBA finals.
Hamilton scored 21 points, pulled down five rebounds and passed out five assists to lead the Pistons into their first NBA final in 14 years, Detroit winning the best-of-seven Eastern Conference Finals four games to two.
“It still hasn’t sunk in yet,” said Hamilton. “To play for an NBA title, that’s crazy.”
After ousting the NBA’s regular-season champions, the NBA’s top defensive club will travel to Los Angeles to begin the best-of-seven championship series Sunday. Stars O’Neal, Bryant, Karl Malone and Gary Payton make LA a favorite.
“Kobe is a great player. I have been playing against him since high school,” Hamilton said. “I’m just enjoying this right now. Come tomorrow, we’ll have to figure all that out.”
The Lakers seek their fourth NBA crown in five years. The Pistons are in the final for the first time since 1990 when the “Bad Boys” led by Isiah Thomas and Dennis Rodman won back-to-back NBA crowns, the first in 1989 over the Lakers.
“This is where we feel like we should be. We’re going to the finals to win it,” said Joe Dumars, the Pistons’ executive who was a guard on Detroit’s prior title teams.
The turning point came with the game level at 59-59 with 3:57 remaining when Indiana’s Ron Artest was called for a flagrant foul on Hamilton, a right forearm to the face that drew blood.
Hamilton sank two free throws to give the Pistons their first lead of the game and Ben Wallace followed by dunking home a rebound to put Detroit ahead 63-59 with 3:44 remaining.
That four-point swing provided the final victory margin.
Indiana trimmed the lead to 63-61 but Hamilton sank a baseline jump shot and Tayshaun Prince connected on a jumper with 46 seconds remaining to give Detroit a 67-61 edge. Indiana came no closer than the final margin after that.
Ben Wallace added 12 points and 16 rebounds while Rasheed Wallace added 11 rebounds and 11 points for the Pistons, who trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half. Jermaine O’Neal, playing with an injured knee, led Indiana with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Austin Croshere added 12 points and Artest 11 for Indiana.
