AUBURN HILLS, Michigan, 15 June 2004 — Rasheed Wallace had 26 points and 13 rebounds as Detroit beat Los Angeles 88-80 on Sunday despite an enormous effort from Lakers giant center Shaquille O’Neal, who had 36 points and 20 rebounds.
The win gives Detroit a 3-1 series lead and puts them on the verge of their first National Basketball Association title in 15 years.
“I was just making shots tonight. I got to take that in stride,” said Wallace. “Simple basketball. We just followed the game plan from the first few games.” The Pistons couldn’t afford to squander their series lead as they played with a special sense of urgency in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Lakers 32-24.
Detroit could wrap up the series with a win in Game Five today at home. The Pistons are seeking their third NBA title and their building was rocking Sunday as they seemed to feed off the energy of their 22,076 boisterous fans.
Chauncey Billups had 23 points while Richard Hamilton finished with 17 points and six assists.
The Pistons outscored the Lakers 41-39 in the first half of what was the most physical game of the best-of-seven series so far. No team has ever come back from a 3-1 deficit in the finals.
In each of the first three games, the Pistons won the third quarter but the Lakers stayed with them this time as O’Neal was a dominant force. But, other than Kobe Bryant, he didn’t get much help from his supporting cast.
Fueled by an additional day of rest, O’Neal came out with more energy, an extra spring in his step and a boxer’s scowl on his face.
O’Neal bumped Ben Wallace so hard on the first dunk of the game that Wallace’s head was still bobbing long after O’Neal threw it down.
Defensive-minded Detroit are known for slowing games down but continued to run-and-gun the Lakers in this series with 21 fast break points to the Lakers five. Detroit shot 42.6 percent from the field and capitalized on the Lakers’ 35 fouls.
“In the first half they would have been out of the game if they didn’t get to the free-throw line,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. Bryant returned to his supporting role for O’Neal, finishing with 20 points. Jackson went with his regular starting lineup but it didn’t take him long to make changes. Devean George played less than two minutes before being subbed for Rick Fox, who hasn’t played much in the series. Fox finished with six assists. Aging star Karl Malone started but played little after the first quarter as he is playing with a sore right knee. Bryant struggled all game with his shooting (8-for-20) but he nailed a three-pointer with 1.9 seconds left to pull the Lakers within two at the half. Gary Payton awoke from his playoff slump scoring six points in the first quarter, including a nifty left-handed jumper as he soared through the paint. But Payton scored just two points in the second half.
