The Detroit Pistons, heavy underdogs in their NBA finals matchup with the Lakers, marched into Los Angeles on Sunday and did what the Houston Rockets of Yao Ming, the San Antonio Spurs of Tim Duncan and the Minnesota Timberwolves of Kevin Garnett could not.
They won in the Staples Center.
With a smothering defense that flustered every Laker but Shaquille O'Neal, the Pistons defeated Los Angeles, 87-75, in Game 1, handing the Lakers their first home loss in 10 postseason games and taking the home-court advantage. The question now is what to make of this. Was it a replay of the Philadelphia 76ers' Game 1 victory in the 2001 finals, an example of the Lakers' typical complacency, or a breakout showing by a Detroit team that is better than nearly everyone thought? The answer should come quickly; Game 2 will be played here today.
With three of the next four games (if necessary) of this four-of-seven-game series being played in Detroit, the Lakers said they needed to treat Game 2 differently.
"We didn't come out with much energy," said O'Neal, who made 13 of 16 shots and 8 of 12 free throws. "It puts a lot of pressure on us for the next game. They wanted it a lot more than we wanted it tonight."
The victory was reminiscent of the feat pulled off by another Larry Brown-coached team three years ago. Expected to be swept like rubbish, Brown's Philadelphia 76ers won Game 1 against the Lakers in the 2001 finals, giving Los Angeles its only postseason loss that year. The Lakers went on to win the next four games and the championship, but perhaps it will be different this time.
Brown's Pistons, the most rugged defenders in the league, won with the unusual strategy of single-covering O'Neal -- essentially surrendering to him -- and working to stop everyone else.
O'Neal, double-teamed only occasionally, finished with 34 points, his career average in 20 finals games, and 11 rebounds, but his teammates struggled mightily. Kobe Bryant scored 25, but it was an inefficient performance; he missed 17 of 27 shots.
The rest of the Lakers shot 6 for 30 (20 percent), and none of them scored more than 5 points. Karl Malone (4) and Gary Payton (3) combined for just 7. Los Angeles was held to 39.7 percent shooting over all.
"To hold them to 75 points I think is pretty incredible," said Brown, who admitted to being surprised by the nature of his team's victory. "I don't know if we could ever defend better. We contested shots. We did an unbelievable job, and I think that's what it's going to take."
The Pistons had several standouts, and surprisingly, Richard Hamilton was not one of them. Hamilton, who had emerged as a star by averaging 21.5 points in the playoffs, was harassed by Bryant and finished with just 12 points, making 5 of 16 shots. He also committed six turnovers.
With their top scorer struggling, the Pistons were not supposed to have a chance. But Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince made up for Hamilton's subpar play. Detroit shot 46 percent against what must seem like soft defense compared with what they encountered in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Billups, who averaged 26.5 points against the Lakers in the regular season, continued to shine against them, outplaying Payton in scoring a team-high 22 points.
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