The masked man dubbed "Mini-Me" by Reggie Miller put the Detroit Pistons within one victory of the NBA Finals.
Richard Hamilton scored a career playoff high 33 points, 12 of them coming in succession when the Pistons took the lead for good in a 83-65 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday night for a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.
PHOTO: REUTERS
In another game dominated by defense, Hamilton did almost all his damage before the third quarter was over. From there, Rasheed Wallace carried Detroit's offense until Hamilton's 3-pointer ended all doubt with 1:45 remaining.
The series now returns to Detroit for Game 6 tonight, the Pistons having a chance to make it to the championship round for the first time since 1990.
"We're excited," Hamilton said. "There's no greater place to win it than at home."
Wallace scored 22 points and was the only Pistons player besides Hamilton to reach double figures.
Detroit held the injury-riddled Pacers to 33 percent shooting and won on Indiana's homecourt for the second time in the series, much to the delight of a vocal contingent of Pistons fans who made the five-hour drive to Conseco Fieldhouse.
Several of them surrounded the tunnel as the Pistons walked out and chanted "Beat LA!"
Indiana got only 11 points from Jermaine O'Neal, who sprained his left knee in Game 5 and had to have it drained on Sunday afternoon. Jamaal Tinsley, playing with an injured left leg, also struggled throughout.
O'Neal's two missed free throws and errant jumper as the clock ticked inside three minutes were followed by Hamilton's 3-pointer for a 79-63 lead that sent Indiana's fans heading for the exits.
Hamilton, who wears a plastic face mask to protect a nose that was broken twice this season, shot 12-for-22 from the field and 8-for-8 from the line to thoroughly outplay Miller, his opponent at shooting guard who remarked with the "Mini-Me" quote earlier in the series how Hamilton reminds him of himself
Detroit never trailed in a first half that was typical of this series, with strong defense by both teams keeping the score down. Indiana was held to just four points in the final 6 minutes of the first quarter, which ended with Detroit ahead 25-17.
Indiana eventually tied it at 33-all before the Hamilton-Miller matchup began taking center stage.
Miller missed a corner jumper that would have put the Pacers ahead, then was called for an odd offensive foul for kicking his leg out to the side while attempting another jumper.
Hamilton scored at the other end, and Miller was livid when he was called for a touch foul that led to a three-point play. Next, Miller stepped on the sideline for a turnover, and referee Steve Javie hit him with a technical foul for arguing as a timeout was called.
Hamilton scored Detroit's final eight points of the half as the Pistons led 41-36, then opened the third quarter with Detroit's first two buckets. Javie called a technical foul on O'Neal with 7:26 left in the third quarter, and Billups made the ensuing free throw for a 50-42 edge.
A three-point play by Hamilton gave Detroit its first double-digit lead, 53-42, and Rasheed Wallace's 3-pointer -- the first field goal in more than 12 minutes by any Detroit player except Hamilton -- upped the lead to 15.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that
RSS