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Hamilton leads Pistons past Nets, forces Game 7
Richard Hamilton pump-faked Jason Kidd off his feet and drilled a clutch 18-footer with 15.5 seconds remaining, and the Detroit Pistons defeated the New Jersey Nets 81-75 on Sunday night, evening their Eastern Conference semifinal series at three games apiece.
Hamilton's 24-point performance, Ben Wallace's rebounding and the Pistons refusal to quit kept the season alive for Detroit.
After two blowout victories and one close win for each team, the series will be decided on the Pistons' home court. Game 7 is Thursday night, the winner advancing to the Eastern Conference finals beginning next Saturday.
New Jersey will be looking to make it there for the third straight year, while Detroit will try to get there for the second consecutive season.
Hamilton was the most productive member of Detroit's offense for the second time in three games, the Pistons choosing to attack whichever player Kidd was defending.
His final shot capped an 11-for-24 performance that also included five rebounds and four assists. Rasheed Wallace added 14 points, Ben Wallace grabbed 20 rebounds — all in the first three quarters — and Chauncey Billups added 11 to lead an otherwise anemic Pistons offense.
The Nets got 23 points from Richard Jefferson and 19 from Martin, but Kidd scored just 11 and made several bad plays in the final three minutes.
New Jersey had three chances to tie it when trailing 72-70, but Kidd threw his second straight bad pass, the Nets committed a 24-second violation and Martin couldn't draw iron on an inside shot with 1:45 remaining.
One free throw apiece by Billups and Jefferson preceded a turnaround by Rasheed Wallace with 1:01 left for a 75-71 lead. Jefferson answered with a driving layup after having a putback attempt rejected by Ben Wallace, but Hamilton put Detroit back up by four on his 18-footer over Kidd with 15.5 seconds left.
Martin scored to make it a two-point game with 9.6 seconds remaining, but Billups went to the line and sank a pair with 8.8 seconds remaining to restore a four-point lead.
Lindsey Hunter added two more foul shots with 0.2 seconds left for the final margin.
After getting off to a slow start and falling behind 13-2, the Pistons caught up early in the second quarter and went ahead 37-27 on a jumper by Mike James that capped a 14-2 run.
The Pistons outrebounded the Nets 26-13 in the first half, with Wallace matching New Jersey's total by himself.
Detroit led 50-36 at intermission, but New Jersey steadily made up ground over the course of the third quarter, holding its own on the boards, creating turnovers and going on a 19-4 run.
The Pistons' lead was down to 60-57 entering the fourth, but they scored the first four points of the period and stayed in front the rest of the way. |
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