Pistons clinch quietly
CHICAGO – Chauncey Billups mentioned how quiet the United Center was after the game. If there’s one benefit to closing out a series on the road, that’s it.
“In a strange sort of way it always feels better to close it out on the road,” Billups said. “That silence, like church.”
That quiet didn’t come easily, but finally, the Pistons can breathe a little easier. There won’t be a Game 7.
Richard Hamilton scored 23 points and the Pistons beat the Chicago Bulls 95-85 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Thursday night, clinching a series that turned tense after Detroit won the first three games.
“We thought that we let one slip away in front of our home fans,” Hamilton said. “We knew that we had to come out here tonight and play hard.”
No NBA team has lost a best-of-7 series after taking a 3-0 lead, and the Pistons rejected the Bulls’ shot at history. Now, Detroit can focus on its fifth straight conference final.
Down 48-43 at halftime, the Pistons outscored the Bulls 31-21 in the third quarter to take a 74-69 lead, and Chicago could not sustain any momentum in the fourth.
Rasheed Wallace had 16 points and 13 rebounds for Detroit, while Tayshaun Prince added 17 points and nine rebounds. Chauncey Billups was just 3 for 12 from the field but he scored 11 of his 21 points in the third quarter.
“We never talked about having a Game 7,” Prince said. “We wanted to really make a statement with this game.”
A jumper by Wallace, who had received a technical foul just more than a minute earlier, and hook shot by Prince made it 85-73 with 2:20 left, and Detroit hung on from there.
“We were moving the ball,” Wallace said of the difference in Detroit’s offense in the second half. “In the first half we were stagnant and didn’t move the ball. That’s what we talked about at halftime.”
Chicago’s P.J. Brown attempted three shots in the second half after scoring all of his 20 points in the first two quarters, matching his playoff career high. Luol Deng added 17 points, but the Bulls were off target after shooting 57.3 percent in Game 5.
This time, they were 28 of 75, with Ben Gordon (19 points) going 7 for 18 and Kirk Hinrich (11 points) 3 of 13.
Wallace said the Pistons didn’t do anything special against Brown in the second half.
“He was getting the same shots. We were still contesting, he just didn’t hit them,” Wallace said. “He was on fire in the first half.”
The Bulls were trying to become the fourth NBA team to force a Game 7 after falling behind 3-0, and keep alive their hopes of joining another exclusive club. Only the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, 1975 New York Islanders and 2004 Boston Red Sox have rallied from 3-0 deficits to win a best-of-7 series.