Wed, Apr 28, 2004 - Page 20 News List

Pistons drive ahead of Bucks in series

NBA PLAYOFFS Neither team is shooting better than 45 percent in the best-of-seven series that shifts to Auburn Hills, Michigan, for Game 5 on Thursday night

AP , MILWAUKEE, WISCONSINAND BOSTONAP, WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTSAND NEW YORK

Pistons forward Corliss Williamson, left, shoots over Bucks guard Brevin Knight in the second quarter of Game 4 of their playoff game at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Monday.

PHOTO: EPA

Richard Hamilton scored 27 points and the Detroit Pistons shot 56.9 percent Monday night in taking a 3-1 series lead with a 109-92 rout of the Milwaukee Bucks.

Rasheed Wallace added 20 points for Detroit, while Chauncey Billups had 19 and Tayshaun Prince 17.

Hamilton's layup with 6:26 left made it 89-75, and the Bucks made their last run, pulling to 95-88 on Damon Jones's 16-footer with 2:18 left.

Prince responded with a 3-pointer and the Bucks never got closer than eight after that.

The Pistons went 20-of-21 from the free throw line, including making all 12 in the fourth quarter, eight in the final 1:09.

Jones had 17 points and 10 assists for Milwaukee, which also got 17 points and 12 rebounds from Joe Smith.

Kings 94, Mavericks 92

In Dallas, Peja Stojakovic missed 10 straight shots in the first half, then came back with five straight swishes to get Sacramento rolling to a 94-92 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

The Kings, who led 91-83 with 3:23 left, lead the best-of-seven series 3-1 with Game 5 in Sacramento on Thursday night.

Dallas' Steve Nash took an inbounds pass with 8.4 seconds left. Stojakovic wound up on him because of a pick-and-roll with Dirk Nowitzki. A fading 18-footer jumper at the buzzer bounced off the rim.

Stojakovic scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half and had 11 rebounds, while Mike Bibby led the Kings with 22 points.

Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 21 points on 5-of-22 shooting.

Pacers 90, Celtics 75

Reggie Miller hit four 3-pointers to help the Indiana Pacers beat the Boston Celtics 90-75 on Sunday and sweep the NBA first-round playoff series 4-0.

The 38-year-old Miller and Indiana got the break they needed in their NBA title chase, with more than a week off before the Eastern Conference semifinals.

"The longer the New Orleans-Miami series goes, we get to rest," Miller said. "Time has shown that the team that has the freshest legs as time goes on usually prevails."

Defending champion San Antonio and runner-up New Jersey also completed sweeps. San Antonio beat Memphis 110-97, and New Jersey topped New York 100-94. Also on Sunday, the Los Angeles Lakers beat Houston 92-88 in overtime to take a 3-1 series lead.

Ron Artest scored 22 points, and Jermaine O'Neal had 18 for the Pacers, who had been eliminated in the first round in each of the past three years. They hadn't won a playoff series since making the NBA Finals in 2000, when Larry Bird was the coach.

Bird stepped down after that season, but he came back this year as president of basketball operations. The Celtics' Hall of Famer was just the good luck charm Indiana needed to get over its first-round troubles.

"This was one of our goals, to get out of the first round. And we did that," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "We're the first team to advance, so we're very proud of that."

Miller was 4-for-8 from 3-point range for 14 points, hitting a pair of 3s early in the third quarter to help the Pacers open a 17-point lead.

"I have the opportunity for so many years to fight for a ring," the 25-year-old O'Neal said. "But I know Reggie is coming to the end of his [career]. He was a Hall of Famer and definitely deserves the opportunity to get the ring."

Paul Pierce had 27 points and 11 rebounds, and Mark Blount added 21 points and 13 rebounds for the Celtics, who went away meekly for the third time in the series.

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