Prince Rescues Pistons On Road
Tayshaun scores 23 points as Detroit heads home with the best-of-seven series tied 2-2.
Philadelphia’s Jason Smith reacts after jamming during the second quarter of Game 4 of an NBA first-round playoff series with the Pistons. Looking on is Detroit’s Jason Maxwell.
AP Photo
PHILADELPHIA — The Pistons squashed all that chatter about heading home with a series deficit.
Tayshaun Prince scored 23 points and made all but one shot from the field, and Detroit played with a purpose and dominated the second half to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 93-84 on Sunday night, tying the best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series at 2-2.
Game 5 is Tuesday night at Detroit.
The Sixers pumped up the crowd when they played season highlights set to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.” Then Detroit guaranteed its season won’t unexpectedly cut-to-black.
All the euphoria the Sixers created after a 20-point win in Game 3 only grew as they raced to a 14-point first-half lead. The younger, faster, confident Sixers were taking it to the aging, slumping Pistons yet again.
Then those 59-win Pistons showed up in the third quarter. They haven’t reached five straight Eastern Conference finals by losing two straight road games to the seventh seed in the first round.
That combined 4-for-14 first half from Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace? Forgotten after they drilled consecutive three-pointers. Prince — 11-for-12 from the floor — followed with a baseline layup to cap an 11-0 spurt early in the third and gave the Pistons their first lead of the game, 47-46.
Wallace, perhaps fired up after he was T’d up in the final seconds of the first half, hit two more treys that whipped a 14-point deficit all the way around to a 60-53 lead.
The Pistons picked up the defensive pressure and forced seven turnovers in the third. Detroit played as the 76ers did in Game 3, with active hands in the lane and pressure up top that rattled the upstart home team.
Wallace finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Richard Hamilton bounced back from a 1-for-10 first half to finish with 18 points. Billups also scored 18 points.
Antonio McDyess did not start but scored 10 points a day after he had surgery to repair a broken nose. McDyess wore a mask to protect the nose broken in the third quarter of Game 3.
Nothing can protect Andre Iguodala from more criticism about his awful playoff series as he made his first three shots, then collapsed again and finished with only 12 points and missed 10 of his final 11 shots.
Samuel Dalembert had 12 points and 12 rebounds. Andre Miller and Willie Green each scored 13 points.
Iguodala appeared to have ended his slump when he faked Jarvis Hayes, spun away from his fallen defender and buried the jumper for his prettiest bucket of the series. The play was nothing more than a brief flash of his regular-season self.
Notes: Injured Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins was at the game and waved his rally towel. First baseman Ryan Howard sent a videotaped message of support.
DETROIT (93)
Prince 11-12 0-0 23, Maxiell 2-6 0-0 4, Wallace 5-12 6-8 20, Billups 4-16 9-10 18, Hamilton 7-22 4-4 18, McDyess 5-8 0-0 10, Stuckey 0-4 0-0 0, Hayes 0-0 0-0 0, Afflalo 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-80 19-22 93.
PHILADELPHIA (84)
Iguodala 4-16 4-9 12, Young 5-9 4-4 15, Dalembert 3-5 6-6 12, Miller 6-13 1-2 13, Green 6-12 1-2 13, Williams 3-5 3-4 10, Carney 1-3 0-0 3, Smith 2-2 0-0 4, Evans 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 31-67 19-27 84.
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At a Glance
Cleveland 100, Washington 97, Cleveland leads series 3-1
Phoenix 105, San Antonio 86, San Antonio leads series 3-1
Detroit 93, Philadelphia 84, series tied 2-2
New Orleans at Dallas, late
Toronto at Orlando, 7:30 p.m.
Boston at Atlanta, 8 p.m
L.A. Lakers at Denver, 10:30 p.m.
For more coverage of the NBA playoffs, see pages 4B and 7B
