AUBURN HILLS, Michigan, 18 June 2005 — After two early blowouts, the defending NBA champion Detroit Pistons have their swagger back.
Chauncey Billups and backup guard Lindsey Hunter scored 17 points apiece to pace a balanced attack as the Pistons pounded the visiting San Antonio Spurs, 102-71 on Thursday night to square the NBA Finals best-of-seven-game series at 2-games apiece.
“To be tied up after coming home 0-2, I dont think we gave ourselves the best chance in San Antonio in the way we played,” Billups said. “But we’re really a different team now. We’re playing with a lot more effort and energy. In the last two games we clicked, and were back to ourselves.”
The victory was the fourth blowout by the home team in as many games.
“You don’t think the games are going to go the way they did but I didn’t think the first two games were going to go like that,” Billups confessed. “But it’s a three-game series now. The first to two and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Detroit will host Game Five tomorrow night before the series returns to San Antonio for Game Six and Game Seven (if necessary).
In the first two games, the Pistons were out-played and out-hustled by a combined total of 36 points, but they didn’t panic. Instead, they relied on their quickness and stranglehold defence to pull even to the delight of the more than 22,000 rabid fans at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
“We were phenomenal tonight,” Pistons coach Larry Brown said. “I really believe this is probably the best game a team has played that I’ve been involved in, in such an important game. This was a pretty special game. I dont think we could have done it any better.”
Rasheed Wallace had 15 points, while Antonio McDyess and Tayshaun Prince collected 13 points apiece for Detroit, which committed an NBA Finals low four turnovers in the most lopsided win since Indiana’s 120-87 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers in Game Five in 2000.
“When we get into the passing lanes, get some steals, get stops and rebound the basketball it leads to transitions buckets,” said Pistons defensive leader Ben Wallace, who had 11 points, 13 rebounds and three steals.
Tim Duncan had 16 points and 16 rebounds, while Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker managed just 12 points each for San Antonio, which shot just 37 per cent from the field and committed 17 turnovers, leading to 21 points.
“Tonight was a carbon copy of the last game,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, whose error-prone team was crushed 96-79 in Game Three. “One needs to credit their defence again. They were physical again. They got us on our heels again. We reacted very poorly to it and you see the results.
“It’s two bad performances,” he added. “If it doesn’t get better we’ll be in big trouble.”
Detroit utilized a 14-0 run bridging the first and second quarters to run out to a 34-17 lead en route to a 51-36 halftime cushion.
Billups had 11 points and Prince added nine as the Pistons forced the Spurs into 10 turnovers while limiting the Western Conference champions to just 35 per cent field goal shooting.
After the Spurs drew within 11 points to open the third quarter, Hunter ended the period with three jumpers and McDyess added back-to-back baskets to help the Pistons take a 74-57 lead into the final 12 minutes.
The onslaught continued and the gap swelled to as many as 31 as Duncan and Ginobili watched helplessly from the bench in the last five minutes.
“There was no minute in the game we were close,” Ginobili said. “Today, we were not there in any part of the game. In every part of the game they killed us. It was a really ugly loss.”
