Detroit vs San Antonio - NBA Finals: Game #5

**Deleterious** · 06-19-2005, 10:12 AM

at

Game Info: 9:00 pm EDT Sun Jun 19, 2005
TV: ABC, TSN

Game 1: SAN 84 DET 69 | Recap | Shot Chart | Motownsports Game Thread | ST Game Thread
Game 2: SAN 97 DET 76 | Recap | Shot Chart | Motownsports Game Thread | ST Game Thread
Game 3: DET 96 SAN 79 | Recap | Shot Chart | Motwonsports Game Thread | ST Game Thread
Game 4: DET 102 SAN 71 | Recap | Shot Chart | MotownSports Game Thread | ST Game Thread
Game 5: at DET Sun, Jun 19 - 9:00 pm EDT TV: ABC, TSN
Game 6: at SA Tue, Jun 21 - 9:00 pm EDT TV: ABC, TSN
*Game 7: at SA Thu, Jun 23 - 9:00 pm EDT TV: ABC, TSN
* - If necessary

Season Series - Tied 2-2

3/20/05 - DET 110 SAN 101 | Recap | Shot Chart | Game Thread
12/31/04 - SAN 80 DET 77 | Recap | Shot Chart

ESPN side by side player breakdown
Series preview thread
Snippets from San Antonio thread

Preview

PLAYOFF SERIES: NBA Finals; tied 2-2.

PROBABLE STARTERS: Spurs - F Duncan, F Bowen, C Nazr Mohammed, G Ginobili, G Tony Parker. Pistons - F Rasheed Wallace, F Tayshaun Prince, C Ben Wallace, G Richard Hamilton, G Chauncey Billups.

Shutting down Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili has made every other facet of the game easier for the Detroit Pistons. Having three straight contests on their home court doesn't hurt either.

The Pistons hope to continue a remarkable turnaround and win three straight on their home floor in the NBA Finals for the second consecutive season when they face the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5.

Judging by the first two games of this series, which San Antonio won at home by a combined 36 points, it appeared the Pistons either didn't have the energy or the pieces to handle Duncan's inside presence and Ginobili's constant slashing and scoring.

A change in defensive strategy and a return to The Palace of Auburn Hills, however, was all it took for Detroit to completely reverse the tide in the finals with two easy wins. While the series is tied at two games apiece, there is little doubt that the defending champion Pistons have all the momentum on their side now.

Detroit followed a 96-79 victory in Game 3 with an even better performance Thursday in a 101-72 rout in Game 4, the most one-sided finals victory in five years.

``We were phenomenal tonight,'' Pistons coach Larry Brown said. ``I really believe in all honesty this is the best game on a team I've been involved with at this level, this is the best we've played. This was a pretty special game.''

If Duncan and Ginobili, both held in check by Detroit's relentless defense in Games 3 and 4, can't reverse their struggles on Sunday, the Pistons might duplicate last season's three-game sweep of the middle section of the finals -- something that had never been done before Detroit beat the Lakers in three straight.

``We remember what that felt like, and we would love to do it again,'' Pistons guard Lindsey Hunter said. ``I don't think it will be a lopsided game like the other four were. I think it'll be tough, but this is what you live for, if you're a competitor.''

After scoring 42 points on 15-for-32 shooting in the first two games, Duncan, a two-time finals MVP, has been held to 30 on 10-for-32 in the last two games. Although Duncan had 16 points and 16 rebounds in Game 4, he was never a factor and seemed emotionally spent while on the bench late in the fourth quarter.

Without Duncan's inside game, the Spurs' points in the paint have obviously decreased, but so has their shooting percentage from the perimeter, resulting in dismal offensive performances the last two games.

``It's just frustrating,'' Duncan said. ``Especially at this time of the year and on this stage, I feel like those shots should be going down for me.''

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich knows winning without a big game from his star player will be very difficult.

``Tim has not had the greatest of games in Games 3 and 4,'' he said. ``He's the center of what we do. We're going to need something going inside with Tim to space the floor. If we don't really have the inside out game, it takes a lot away from what we're doing.''

The biggest change Detroit made the past two games was using several defenders on Duncan instead of relying on just one. Rasheed Wallace, Ben Wallace and reserve Antonio McDyess have taken away the Spurs' preference for running their offense through Duncan.

``They are very different in what they do. They throw a lot of different bodies at you, and Ben and Rasheed and Dice do so many different things,'' Duncan said. ``They have been effective, so yes, it does affect me. But at the same time, I believe I've gotten a lot of shots that on a regular basis I would knock down, and I hope to do that in the next game.''

Ginobili, who played brilliantly in Games 1 and 2, has also been shut down by the Pistons' tenacious defense. He scored 53 points and drove the Spurs' offense with constant slashes into the lane the first two games, but has been held to 19 points in two games at Detroit.

Besides shutting down Duncan and Ginobili, the Pistons have held the Spurs' top six postseason scorers well below their scoring averages from the first three series, with only defensive specialist Bruce Bowen increasing his statistics. San Antonio averaged 102.2 points in the Western Conference playoffs, but has been held to 82.8 while committing 68 turnovers -- 25 more than Detroit -- in this series.

The Pistons are bidding to become only the third team and the first since Portland in 1977 to win the NBA Finals after losing the first two games.

Since the finals went to a 2-3-2 format in 1985, six series have been tied at 2-2, and the winner of Game 5 has won the series four times. In both cases where the Game 5 loser won the series, the team had the last two games at home -- the Lakers in 1988 and Houston in 1994.

Game 6 is Tuesday in San Antonio.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Spurs - 2nd seed, Western Conference; beat Denver Nuggets 4-1, first round; beat Seattle SuperSonics 4-2, conference semifinals; beat Phoenix Suns 4-1, conference finals. Pistons - 2nd seed, Eastern Conference; beat Philadelphia 76ers 4-1, first round; beat Indiana Pacers 4-2, conference semifinals; beat Miami Heat 4-3, conference finals.

PLAYOFF TEAM LEADERS: Spurs - Duncan, 23.5 ppg and 12.1 rpg; Parker, 4.5 apg. Pistons - Hamilton, 20.4 ppg; Ben Wallace, 11.3 rpg; Billups, 6.4 apg.

Piston Notes
Pistons coach Larry Brown recorded his 99th career playoff victory, tying Boston Celtics legend Red Auerbach for third on the all-time list, trailing only Phil Jackson (175) and Pat Riley (155). ... Detroit set an NBA Finals record for fewest turnovers, committing just four. ... In their typical unselfish fashion, the Pistons had seven players score in double-digits, with each attempting between 10-16 shots. ... Gs Chauncey Billups and Lindsey Hunter each scored a game-high 17 points. Billups shot just 5-of-14, but made all seven of his free throws. Hunter made 7-of-10 shots off the bench and also dished out five assists in 22 minutes. ... Detroit held a 22-10 advantage on fast-break points. The Pistons have allowed the Spurs to score just 14 points on the fast break in the last two contests.

San Antonio Notes
The Spurs, who went 21-20 away from home in the regular season, have dropped their first two road games of the NBA Finals by a combined 48 points. ... San Antonio was outscored in every quarter and has not outscored Detroit in a period since the first quarter of Game Three. ... The Spurs committed 17 turnovers, while forcing only four. ... San Antonio made just 14-of-24 free throws and 5-of-15 shots from the arc. ... G Manu Ginobili, who scored a total of 53 points in the Spurs' two wins, scored just seven in Game Three and managed only 12 in this one. ... F Bruce Bowen, who scored a total of 28 points in the last two games, scored just six in 33 minutes.

**Moonlight Graham** · 06-19-2005, 11:07 AM

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm

The San Antonio Spurs

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm

79

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Your Detroit Pistons

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm

82

**Truth** · 06-19-2005, 12:51 PM

What are the Spurs going to do? The Pistons, in Games 1-4, have 12, 5, 12 and 13 steals against this team. The Spurs have turned the ball over 16 times in each game in San Antonio and 18 and 17 at the Palace.

Easy enough to say cut down on the turnovers...apparently harder to accomplish for the Spurs. If they are able to I think we might see a low scoring battle as everyone anticipated in this series. I say might though becasue I'm still not convinced that the Pistons offensive woes in San Antonio weren't in a large part self inflicted. Rip has for the most part struggled in this series...he seemed to solve Bowen a bit in Game 3, he will need another game like that tonight. If he can't get 20+ efficient points the Pistons will need 6+ assists from him...he needs to give them something significant on offense.

The Spurs have been inconsistent shooting 3s...hitting in the low .30s in Games 1 and 4 and over .45 in Games 2 and 3. The Pistons have been plain awful from behind the line. While they are not the greatest 3 point shooting team they certainly are better than the 6-35 they have shot. It's time for Billups or Rasheed to have one of those 4-6 kind of nights from behind the line.

Duncan, Duncan, Duncan...that's mostly what I read. I don't think the Pistons fear a big night from Duncan as long as he has to work and they hold everyone else in check. The bigger fear is in the final minutes of a close game when guys like Duncan, Ginobili and Horry all have to be accounted for.

GO PISTONS

**Buddha** · 06-19-2005, 01:12 PM

This game worries me because of the potential for Piston complacency.

Having won 2 straight blow outs at home and everybody telling them how great they are, this is just the type of game where they've gotten lazy all year.

**DaBishop** · 06-19-2005, 01:36 PM

My opinion is the Pistons have been the better team all series long minus game 2. Fatigue doesn't set in during game 1 and it's 3-1 Detroit right now. Pistons in 6

**TigersMeow79** · 06-19-2005, 04:59 PM

Toughest game of the series. I would think this would be a very close games but the previous 4 haven't shown that. What I would love to see is Tony Parker get in foul trouble so Udrih would have to play a bit more. They love to pressure that little dude into turnovers, I don't see how that would change and it isn't like the Spurs have another guy to handle the ball.

**blue** · 06-19-2005, 05:29 PM

the cynic in me says that the pistons win game 5 tonight, but then they lose the next 2 in san antonio. i'm just not convinced yet that the refs aren't calling the games in favor of the home court teams and that this has a significant effect on the game. in the first two games, in SA, the pistons were called for fouls very early in the game, which forces brown to sit certain players in foul trouble and forces the team to play less aggressively. in both the games so far in detroit, the refs have allowed the teams to play aggressive, physical basketball, which favors the pistons.

it will be interesting to see how the beginning of the first game back in SA will be called. i'm hoping that we do not start out once again by seeing excessive fouls called on the pistons.

**tigerfn1** · 06-19-2005, 05:40 PM

i hope we see this again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**Deleterious** · 06-19-2005, 05:41 PM

Rasheed and Rip bust out tonight, Chauncey gets his quiet 16-18 and the Pistons win it rather easily again.

**Betrayer** · 06-19-2005, 07:45 PM

I love that picture of Duncan on the bench...I think the Auburn Hills Police must have had him on suicide watch over the last couple days

This is a big game - let's bring big energy for four full quarters.

GO PISTONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!

**Tramfan** · 06-19-2005, 08:35 PM

Big game tonight. The winner tonight takes all IMO. If we take game five we break their will and win game six in SA. However the reverse could happen with a loss as well.

**DTroppens** · 06-19-2005, 08:36 PM

I kind of agree with DaBishop to a point here. I won't say we should've won game #1 but if you grade these games out on a scale of 1-10 the Pistons have been the better team.

It sounds stupid to say complacency can be an issue with the Pistons but I could see what Buddha stated as happening too. This is a team whenever if felt like it got back to even usually has taken a step back if there is more time to recover. I don't think we'll come out complacent but it would be human nature after two straight games not to have the same "edge" as your foe. San Antonio will give their best effort at the Palace tonight. That's not hard to say I guess. If they don't then they don't deserve to be here.

I am so glad this is a 9 p.m. game. I enjoyed the day, enjoyed the Tiger game and didn't find myself concerned with this game at all until about an hour ago. If this game is played during the afternoon I miss the Tigers (who I listened to for most of the day on the radio) and I am forced to sit inside and blow such a nice day inside. And if we would've lost I'd be ticked for a bit of the rest of the day. Thanks for the 9 p.m. sked NBA.

**wingedwheel** · 06-19-2005, 09:27 PM

Pistons are starting hot.

13-6 five minutes in.

**DTroppens** · 06-19-2005, 09:29 PM

I was about to post the same thing but since I moved over here it's now 13-10 with Ginobli at the line.

He made it 13-11.

Still you have to like how we came out to start this game.

**One Man's Fool** · 06-19-2005, 09:30 PM

Nice tip-in by Tayshaun. Will make a huge difference if Sheed starts hitting those short jumpers.

**DTroppens** · 06-19-2005, 09:30 PM

I guess it's fair to say Ben has shown up in this first quarter. He's all over the place.

**One Man's Fool** · 06-19-2005, 09:33 PM

Originally posted by DTroppens
I guess it's fair to say Ben has shown up in this first quarter. He's all over the place.

Even just made a free throw! And another!

**wingedwheel** · 06-19-2005, 09:33 PM

Ben 4-4 freethrows! Awesome!

**DTroppens** · 06-19-2005, 09:35 PM

Man oh man Lindsey, that was a pretty awesome steal
"I'm taking it."

19-15 Pistons time out with 2:26 left in the first.

**One Man's Fool** · 06-19-2005, 09:35 PM

Did anyone see the stone face on Bill Walton during the pregame when Tirico was extolling the personal virtues of Larry Brown?

**DTroppens** · 06-19-2005, 09:36 PM

Ben
8 pts, 4 reb, a charge taken, forced Barry into one of the worst jumpers he's ever taken when Ben was running out, and generally a menace to anything the Spurs are trying to do on offense.

**DTroppens** · 06-19-2005, 09:38 PM

Sorry I didn't,
I didn't watch the pregame show at all.

**DTroppens** · 06-19-2005, 09:39 PM

That last possession was awful. It was three guards working the ball to themselves. Predictable airball.

**DTroppens** · 06-19-2005, 09:42 PM

Ginobli four stragiht points. He's not going to be quiet tonight.

Parker turnover with under a minute left

Pistons ball
Rip 8 footer.
Pistons 23-19

AUGH - Mohamed off putback
Pistons up 23-21

Ginobli gets off the last shot of the quarter and misses.

END OF FIRST 23-21 Pistons.

**wingedwheel** · 06-19-2005, 09:46 PM

Dumb question...

how is Nazr pronounced Nazee?

**Kamakzie** · 06-19-2005, 09:57 PM

Looking ugly right now. Spurs up 9...

**DTroppens** · 06-19-2005, 10:00 PM

I leave my computer and everything falls apart. Down by nine now.

Ginobli is really active. He's pretty much killing us on the glass.
Spurs 8 off rebounds, Pistons 13 def rebounds. That's not going to get it done.

Duncan, Ginobli and Parker all have their games going on right now. That's not good news.

**holygoat** · 06-19-2005, 10:00 PM

Not good. Detroit is missing rebounds, layups and free throws again. Sheed is doing his after-first-quarter disappearing act and SA has found a rhythm. Detroit had better get their act together soon or it's going to be a 5th straight blowout.

**DTroppens** · 06-19-2005, 10:08 PM

And even worse. My computer went out after that last post. Apparently it's not happy either.

**DTroppens** · 06-19-2005, 10:09 PM

Billups drives the lane for a layup and we have a time out
38-25 with 3:23 left in the half.

What's up with that song? JLo really is a bad singer.

And another one - can we get rid of that song that they start every game with.

**DTroppens** · 06-19-2005, 10:14 PM

Well that's twice we've contested the original ballhandler and the second straight possession for San Antonio that they had an airball for a shot.

**DTroppens** · 06-19-2005, 10:15 PM

Sheed nails that jumper off the Hamilton curl.

We need to see more of that.

**DTroppens** · 06-19-2005, 10:16 PM

Nice drive by Prince but the shot doesn't go. They really could've given that foul to Horry.

**DTroppens** · 06-19-2005, 10:18 PM

WHOOHOO

I guess why everyone talks about Prince's wingspan. Nice steal and dish to Ben for the transition hoop.

We still trail but I think it's fair to say we have gotten San Antonio out of that flow it had earlier.

The pressuring of the ball handler down the court has helped a ton.

**holygoat** · 06-19-2005, 10:19 PM

Whew! They woke up. I like the defensive intensity now.

**DTroppens** · 06-19-2005, 10:20 PM

WOW,
you could tell that Ben free throw was short as soon as he released that shot.

**Gringaloca** · 06-19-2005, 10:23 PM

Halftime: 42 - 42 all knotted up!...

Hope they start feelin' that 'wall' against their backsides soon...

**DTroppens** · 06-19-2005, 10:27 PM

Good news here. Since my last post about the boards, San ANtonio hasn't got an offensive board.

Nice run to end the half.

San Antonio has come out with the type of energy you expected them to and maybe the only thing that really upset me was how we were being dominated on the defensive glass.

Ben is active on both ends and Sheed got involved in the offense despite missing quite a few shots. Both have been pretty effective defensively as well.

We aren't earning a lot of points through good pass distribution as well. That would be another concern. Hamilton is turning the ball over a bit. Our defense has us tied and yet we really dind't stop the main three. They were all involved.