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Didn’t really expect this outcome. I think after the Herculean efforts in the Saturday games I was expecting our guys to come out and really send a message to the rest of the league that the real season has begun. But that didn’t quite happen.

Looking back we should have expected this type of game. We had four just like it in the regular season. That’s what happens when you pit two of the top ten stingiest defenses in the league up against one another.

FIRST HALF:
The Sixers didn’t hesitate to go to what works for them right from the outset. They were getting their hands in the passing lanes and crashing the offensive boards (the Sixers finished #2 in the league on the offensive glass). Philly was getting points in the paint early. Sixteen of their twenty-two first quarter points came in the lane.

The Pistons started to wake up once Jason Maxiell got into the game. Maxy made an immediate impact with a quick block, offensive board, kick-out assist sequence. Maxy’s energy helped spark a 13-2 Pistons run to end the first quarter. By the time the first half had come to a close Maxiell had 9 boards and 10 points on 5/7 shooting in just 12 minutes. Me and a friend were texting back and fourth while Maxy was doing his thing and I was so pumped by Maxy’s energy and imapct that I told my friend I’d like to have Maxy’s baby just so he could eat it. Jason finished the game with 12 points and 11 boards.

Allen Einstein/NBAE via Getty Images

The second quarter was pretty good for our guys. They (Rasheed mostly) shut down the paint. The Sixers were held to 23% from the field in the quarter and 33% for the half.

The Pistons front court was getting down in the first half. They combined for 35 points led by Rasheed’s 15. Rasheed also had 6 boards and 5 swats. Meanwhile the backcourt of Rip and Chauncey combined for only 13 points with only 2 of those points belonging to Billups on a lone shot attempt. Didn’t know it at the time, but the lack of production from those two would be one of the stories of the game.

The Pistons held the Sixers to 16 second quarter points for a 51-38 half time lead.

SECOND HALF:
Mo Cheeks must have said the right things in the lockeroom because the Sixers hit their first 4 shots of the third quarter to score 8 unanswered and cut the Pistons lead to 5. Not to worry though, the Pistons go on 9-0 run and push their lead to 15 and finished out quarter with a 70-63 lead.

The fourth quarter starts and here goes the 76ers on another run. This time it’s a 8-2 run to pull within a point of the Pistons.

Theo Ratliff came in and gave the Pistons a boost in limited minutes. Theo scored 2, blocked 2, and pulled down 2 in just under six minutes. To Flip Saunders’ credit he did utilize the bench playing 12.

But, Philly kept coming. After catching up and exchanging freethrows with us they took a 78-77 lead, their first since the opening quarter. Andre Miller (20 pts, 6 ast), who had a quiet first half was awesome in the 4th. Willie Green (17 pts) also came up big in the winning effort for the Sixers. Miller and Green outscored Chauncey and Rip in this game 37-27.

The Sixers also got a big effort from Reggie Evans who played over his head scoring 11 and rebounding 14. During the regular season he averaged 5.2 points and 7.5 boards. Reggie Evans usually starts, but Cheeks elected to go with rookie Thaddeus Young (10 points).

The Pistons kept in close, but in un-Pistonslike fashion did not make the clutch plays. Chauncey missed a pair of clutch free throws in the 4th and three for the game. Chauncey, a 92% free thrower only had 1 game all season when he missed 3 free throws.

Tayshaun Prince missed a wide open jumper off great Billups penetration that would have tied it. The next offensive possession a headbandless (so you know it was serious) Rasheed misses a 4 foot bunny??

“I’m going to put this one on me,” Wallace said. “There’s no excuses.

“The last bunny, that was a bucket I should’ve made. I’m going to take this one on the chin.”- AP

And what was the deal with Sheed joining the Sixer huddle in the 4th? Is he so confident we’ve got this series that he’s trying out shtick?

Hats off to Philly’s D. They really turned it up in the 4th holding Detroit to 16 points on 28% shooting. They played free and with nothing to lose and were the better team.

NOTES:

Rasheed Wallace scored a game high 24 points and had 7 of the Pistons 10 total blocks tying a Pistons playoff record held by Bob Lanier and Ben Wallace…Rasheed went over 2,000 playoff points in the 3rd quarter…Andre Iguodala went 4/15 from the field…former Piston Flip Murray was in attendance…the Pistons haven’t lost a game 1 of the opening round since 2003 Vs. Orlando…Box score