Rasheed Wallace scored 24 of his 29 points in the second half and helped the defending champion Detroit Pistons pull away from the Philadelphia 76ers 106-85 in the first game of the NBA playoffs on Saturday.
Allen Iverson had 30 points and 10 assists, and Chris Webber scored 27, but that wasn't nearly enough for the Sixers.
Detroit will host Game 2 in the best-of-seven series on Tuesday.
PHOTO: EPA
"There's no pressure on us. Most of the attention is on Miami and San Antonio," he said. "We like being on the back burner.''
The seventh-seeded Sixers started the game with a nothing-to-lose mentality, and it helped them build a 16-point lead in the first quarter before Detroit went ahead for good late in the second quarter.
Antonio McDyess scored 13 of his 15 points in the second quarter to lead Detroit's comeback. Tayshaun Prince finished with 23 points, Richard Hamilton had 17 and Chauncey Billups added 11. Ben Wallace tied a Pistons playoff record with seven blocks, and had seven points and 10 rebounds.
"We played one quarter of basketball," Iverson said.
"That's not enough to beat nobody."
Detroit followed up a 16-point first period with 32 points in each of the next two quarters.
Philadelphia's Samuel Dalembert had 10 points and a season-high 18 rebounds and Andre Iguodala added 10 points.
Rockets 98, Mavericks 86
At Dallas, Tracy McGrady scored 34 points to build the Houston Rockets a big lead, then Mike James and Jon Barry helped protect the shrinking margin in the final period, preserving a victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
McGrady's early heroics, highlighted by a long 3-pointer with the shot clock about to expire and Dirk Nowitzki's hand in his face, helped Houston take a 19-point lead early in the second quarter. The Rockets were up by double-digits until the closing minutes of the third, then Dallas got within 75-71 with 9:16 left.
But baskets by Barry and James, the only player on either roster with a championship ring, having won with Detroit last season, stretched the Rockets to 84-73 and just 5:52 to play.
Houston's eighth straight win took away Dallas' home-court advantage -- and fit nicely with a quirky stat in team history. The Rockets are 17-1 when winning Game 1 of a series and just 5-19 when losing the opener.
Game 2 is on Monday in Dallas. The Mavericks' loss ended a nine-game winning streak and a nine-game home winning streak. It was their first home loss under coach Avery Johnson and just their third in 19 games since he replaced Don Nelson.
Celtics 102, Pacers 82
In Boston, Raef LaFrentz set a club playoff record by hitting all five of his 3-pointers and a scrappy Boston rolled over Indiana in their playoff opener.
The Celtics overcame a horrible start in which they missed 12 of their first 13 shots and trailed 12-6. But they hit 20 of their 31 shots the rest of the half and led 57-31 at intermission.
LaFrentz led the Celtics with 21 points and broke the record for 3-pointers set by Scott Wedman in Game 1 of the 1985 NBA finals, won by the Los Angeles Lakers. Gary Payton had 14 points and Antoine Walker and Ricky Davis added 13 each.
The Pacers were led by Stephen Jackson's 25 points. Austin Croshere added 10 points, while Reggie Miller, who plans to retire after this season, and Jermaine O'Neal had only seven.
Boston will host Game 2 on Monday night.
SuperSonics 87, Kings 82
In Seattle, Ray Allen scored 28 points and Seattle center Jerome James added 17 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, leading the SuperSonics past Sacramento in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.
The Sonics blew a 21-point second-half lead but held on with big baskets in the closing seconds by Allen and James.
Peja Stojakovic led Sacramento with 24 points, and Cuttino Mobley scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half for the Kings.
Rashard Lewis added 18 points for Seattle.
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Seattle.
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