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Pistons leave Nets tangled up to enter Eastern Conference finals
Auburn Hills, May 23: Chauncey Billups scored 22 points as Detroit advanced to the NBA Eastern Conference finals with a 90-69 dismantling of New Jersey in Game 7 of their semifinal set at The Palace of Auburn Hills on Thursday (May 20).
Auburn Hills, May 23: Chauncey Billups scored 22 points as Detroit advanced to the NBA Eastern Conference finals with a 90-69 dismantling of New Jersey in Game 7 of their semifinal set at The Palace of Auburn Hills on Thursday (May 20).
Richard Hamilton added 21 points and Ben Wallace contributed 18 and eight rebounds for the third-seeded Pistons, who won the best-of-seven series 4-3 and will play top-seeded Indiana in the conference finals.
Detroit have now won their last three Game 7s and have yet to lose a postseason series of at least five games when taking the first two contests (12-0).
Kerry Kittles had 18 points for the Nets, who have never rallied from an 0-2 deficit to win a playoff series. Richard Jefferson and Kenyon Martin each netted 17 while Martin also tallied a game-high 12 rebounds in the loss.
New Jersey, who played in a Game 7 for the first time in NBA franchise history, failed in its bid to reach at least the Eastern Conference finals for the third straight season.
Nets All-Star guard Jason Kidd went 0-for-8 from the field and scored zero points, marking the first time in 73 career playoff games he was held scoreless.
New Jersey jumped out to a 10-4 lead, but the Pistons responded by scoring 11 straight points to pull ahead 15-10 with just under three minutes left in the first quarter.
During the run, Rasheed Wallace netted six points, including the final four.
Detroit continued to stifle the Nets and the lead rose to 21-14 after one as the Pistons closed out the period on a commanding 17-4 surge.
The Pistons kept piling on the points as Hamilton's three-pointer early in the second widened the lead to 29-20 and Detroit increased its margin to 35-24 later in the period.
The Pistons led by as many as 13 points in the quarter on Ben Wallace's layup with 3:01 remaining and carried a 43-31 edge into the intermission.
Hamilton scored 14 points for the Pistons, who made 40 percent of their shots in the first half (18-of-45). Jefferson had 11 to pace New Jersey, which connected on 13-of-34 attempts from the field in the opening 24 minutes (38 percent).
Detroit blew the game open in the third quarter as they began the frame with a 7-0 spurt, keyed by five points from Billups, to claim a hefty 50-31 lead. The Nets did not have any answers to the onslaught and found themselves down 24 points at 57-33 following Ben Wallace's thunderous dunk off a putback with 5:41 left in the period.
The Pistons led by 25 points later in the quarter and held a 73-50 advantage after 36 minutes.
New Jersey tried to get back into the game as they started the fourth with an 8-0 run, highlighted by six points from Rodney Rogers, to pull within 73-58. However, that was as close as the Nets would get as Detroit quickly countered with eight consecutive points and went on to the onesided win.
Bureau Report
Nets All-Star guard Jason Kidd went 0-for-8 from the field and scored zero points, marking the first time in 73 career playoff games he was held scoreless.
New Jersey jumped out to a 10-4 lead, but the Pistons responded by scoring 11 straight points to pull ahead 15-10 with just under three minutes left in the first quarter.
During the run, Rasheed Wallace netted six points, including the final four.
Detroit continued to stifle the Nets and the lead rose to 21-14 after one as the Pistons closed out the period on a commanding 17-4 surge.
The Pistons kept piling on the points as Hamilton's three-pointer early in the second widened the lead to 29-20 and Detroit increased its margin to 35-24 later in the period.
The Pistons led by as many as 13 points in the quarter on Ben Wallace's layup with 3:01 remaining and carried a 43-31 edge into the intermission.
Hamilton scored 14 points for the Pistons, who made 40 percent of their shots in the first half (18-of-45). Jefferson had 11 to pace New Jersey, which connected on 13-of-34 attempts from the field in the opening 24 minutes (38 percent).
Detroit blew the game open in the third quarter as they began the frame with a 7-0 spurt, keyed by five points from Billups, to claim a hefty 50-31 lead. The Nets did not have any answers to the onslaught and found themselves down 24 points at 57-33 following Ben Wallace's thunderous dunk off a putback with 5:41 left in the period.
The Pistons led by 25 points later in the quarter and held a 73-50 advantage after 36 minutes.
New Jersey tried to get back into the game as they started the fourth with an 8-0 run, highlighted by six points from Rodney Rogers, to pull within 73-58. However, that was as close as the Nets would get as Detroit quickly countered with eight consecutive points and went on to the onesided win.
Bureau Report