Posted on: Friday, June 17, 2005
Detroit hammers Spurs to even series
By Chris Sheridan
Associated Press
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — The blank, bewildered looks on the faces of the San Antonio Spurs said it all. They were a beaten team — a badly beaten team — and their collective daze extended from Tim Duncan on down the bench.
Marc Serota • Associated Press "They really pressured us, and they didn't let us do anything on offense. We've got to find a solution," Spurs guard Tony Parker said.
Once again, it was a double-digit victory — the series' fourth in as many games. The difference this time was the degree of dominance shown by the Pistons, a mix of suffocating defense and varied offense that left the Spurs completely befuddled.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told his team at halftime that they had played the worst half of basketball he'd ever seen by an NBA playoff team.
Maybe he was exaggerating, maybe not.
"We were phenomenal tonight," Detroit's Larry Brown said. "I really believe in all honesty this is the best game on a team I've been involved with at this level, this is the best we've played. This was a pretty special game."
Game 5 in Detroit will be Sunday, and one team will emerge one victory away from the title.
"It's a three-game series now. It's going to be a lot of fun," Detroit guard Chauncey Billups said.
Detroit took control with a 14-0 run bridging the first and second quarters, and it was never close the rest of the way.
When the Spurs tried to force the ball inside, a swarm of defenders and a collection of long arms were there to swat at them, bother them and break them.
The Spurs' 71 points tied for the fifth-fewest in finals history, two more than the Pistons managed in Game 1.
Carlos Osorio • Associated Press Contrast that with the Pistons, who received big boosts off the bench from Lindsey Hunter (17 points) and Antonio McDyess (13 points) in support of Billups' 17 points, Rasheed Wallace's 14, Prince's 13 and Richard Hamilton's 10.
"We've got a lot of guys who can score. Tonight, Chauncey recognized I had it going, and like I said before the game, I still know how to put it in the hole a little bit," said Hunter, a 12-year veteran averaging just 3.3 points in the postseason. "My dad always taught me the only way you know if the next one is going in is to put it in the air. So I've always lived by that."
Detroit had a 22-10 edge in fast-break points and a 13-1 edge in steals, led by Ben Wallace's three.
"Those guys, they throw a lot of bodies at you, each with their own little style," Duncan said.
As a team, Detroit had 22 assists and just four turnovers.
"They came out playing hard, but it seemed like we took the air out of them when we kept getting steals from them and blocking shots," McDyess said. "It seemed like everything went right for us, and I hope it continues."
Game 6 will be played on the Spurs' home court Tuesday , and Game 7, if necessary, will be Thursday in San Antonio.
The home team has won every game in the series thus far.
A lopsided victory came easily for the defending champion Detroit Pistons in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, almost too easily. Their 102-71 victory yesterday over San Antonio evened the series at two games apiece and left the Spurs scratching their heads.
Detroit's Chauncey Billups, right, goes up for two of his 17 points against the defense of San Antonio's Manu Ginobili. "It's a three-game series now," Billups said after Game 4.
Duncan had the best stat line of the night with 16 points and 16 rebounds, but if there was ever a misleading set of numbers, that was it. The two-time finals MVP shot 5 for 17 and was never able to get into any kind of an offensive rhythm against the defense of the two Wallaces, Ben and Rasheed, and no one stepped up to take on a bigger share of the offensive load.
Detroit's Richard Hamilton throws down a dunk for two of his 12 points in the 102-71 Game 4 win for the Pistons.
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