0305070459
DETROIT FREE PRESS
030507
Wednesday, May 07, 2003
METRO FINAL CHASER
1A
Photo JULIAN H. GONZALEZ/Detroit Free Press
Detroit's Richard Hamilton puts the brakes on a driving Allen Iverson
of the 76ers in the series opener Tuesday at the Palace. Game 2 is Thursday
night. COMPLETE COVERAGE, SECTION D
Pistons guard Chauncey Billups writhes in pain Tuesday night after injuring
his ankle in the fourth quarter against Philadelphia.
MITCH ALBOM FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
GAME 1: PISTONS 98, 76ERS 87
Copyright (c) 2003, Detroit Free Press
THE BRIGHT STUFF
DESPITE POWER OUTAGE, PISTONS LIGHT UP 76ERS
The lights came on. The lights went out. The lights came on again. And then,
in the fourth quarter, the lights went out.
The first time was electrical. Something blew in the breakers and the Palace
went dark. Then the second time was physical and emotional. Chauncey Billups,
the Pistons' offensive leader -- having an excellent night, their leading
scorer -- went up for a jump shot and landed on the outstretched leg of
defender Eric Snow. Billups could barely get up. He hobbled off the court,
helped by his teammates. And with him went the most consistent offensive
threat the Pistons had.
The question now was, how dark was it going to get?
Answer: lights up.
Showing a resolve that makes playoff winners, the Pistons took the challenge
of Billups' absence and turned the flame up a notch. Mehmet Okur, who is
technically a rookie, waited patiently as the clock ticked away, then hammered
home a three-pointer. Chucky Atkins, in for Billups, drove through the Philly
defense and laid it in. A fast break saw Atkins go to Ben Wallace, who tipped
it to Okur for a rousing slam.
And somehow, some way, with the guy who usually is their crunch-time player
sitting on the bench with his head in a towel, the Pistons beat the Sixers to
claim something that hasn't been seen in this town in a while -- a 1-0 lead in
a playoff series.
"We told ourselves we wanted to win this game and see what it was like to play
from the front for a change," Wallace said after the 98-87 victory.
Lights up.
Determination pays off
Everything you heard about this series? Throw out the scripts. Tuesday was
supposed to be a game in which Detroit would be baffled by Philly's little
man, Allen Iverson, and Philly would be banged around by Wallace, the Pistons'
human clock tower. Didn't work that way.
Maybe it was the lights. But at one point in this thing, Philly was putting
two men on Billups. And Detroit was watching Derrick Coleman rack up points
(21) and rebounds (eight). Iverson was a presence but not the difference. And
Wallace was on the bench with foul trouble.
Now, admittedly, Iverson, who finished with 27 points, is an amazing player to
watch. He scoots away from defenders the way a bumblebee escapes a swatting
hand. When he passes the ball, almost before it leaves his hands he is moving,
and it is in those split seconds -- when the defender is looking, naturally,
at the ball -- that Iverson creates the openings he needs. He keeps just
enough distance between him and the defender to leave his options open,
zipping past or throwing up a dagger of a shot. There is no one better at
creating space for his shot -- not in the league, maybe not in the world.
But in the fourth quarter -- as with much of Tuesday night -- Iverson was
merely mortal. He missed some long jumpers that could have turned the tide.
His drives, magical as they are, were limited to only an occasional flash, and
the damage he did was manageable.
Meanwhile, the Pistons were simply determined. They drew off the energy of a
charged-up crowd, squeezed Philly defensively, got just enough offense and
made just enough free throws to straight-arm a victory.
It was the kind of win Rick Carlisle and Joe Dumars are proud of. Everybody
doing something. Giving it up for the team. This was personified not only by
the obvious, like Atkins' fine sub job in place of Billups, and Okur's huge
performance -- 7-for-7, 16 points, six rebounds -- but also by the less
obvious, like Corliss Williamson, who barely took off his sweats in the second
half of the Orlando series, coming in cold in the second quarter and hitting
three straight shots to keep the lead in the 10-point range.
It is guys like the quiet Williamson, who could have moaned and whined about
sitting unused -- after being the go-to guy last season -- who make this team
a force to be reckoned with.
"Every night we think somebody is going to step up for us," Atkins said. "In
Game 2, hopefully, it'll happen again."
A team effort
Having said that, let's be honest. This team is only as good as the sum of its
parts, and Billups is a big part. A huge part. All night Tuesday he hit huge
three-pointers, and he controlled the tempo and directed the offense. Even
though he left injured, he finished with 24 points, one behind Richard
Hamilton as the leading Detroit scorers.
"He's a veteran, hopefully he'll be back for the next game," Hamilton said of
Billups. The early prognosis was an ankle sprain. That means maybe Thursday,
maybe next week.
In the meantime, the Pistons are going to find out a lot about themselves. It
says something that Okur had a big night when Wallace did not, that Tayshaun
Prince seems to be more than a one-series wonder, and that Atkins is more than
willing to step into the point-guard controls should Billups be gone.
But time will tell. Slowing Iverson will continue to be a challenge. For this
night, it was met. The Pistons will hope to repeat that. On the other hand,
that light thing?
Once was enough.
Contact MITCH ALBOM at 313-223-4581 or albom@freepress.com. Catch "The Mitch
Albom Show" 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WJR-AM (760).
THIS ELECTRONIC VERSION MAY DIFFER SLIGHTLY FROM THE PRINTED ARTICLE.
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