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It took us five games to do it, but we’re finally in the driver’s seat in this series. [Box score]

Ok, If the Pistons can promise to play this way for the rest of the series then I’ll pretend the first four games never even happened and just consider us up one game to none in a best of three.

Let’s take a look at how PN-stradamus’ keys to getting the win related to the action last night.

• Make shots: How does 58% shooting grab ya? You think the Pistons have a pretty good chance to win at that kind of clip? Me too. The execution was crisp and the floor spacing allowed the Pistons to get good looks at the cup and most importantly they knocked ‘em down. How about 27 assists? We know how unbeatable this team is when they 25 or more assists. In the games we’ve won we’ve averaged 25.6 assists per, and the games they’ve lost they’ve only averaged 17. And again, if we’re executing and making shots Philly can’t turn the game into a track meet and that does wonders for our defense (i.e. 12 blocks, 8 steals, and Philly shoots 42%)
• Take care of the ball: Well, 17 turnovers is more than we averaged through 82 regular season games. We’ll have to do better on that. To our credit though Philly is one the better teams at forcing turnovers.
• Not just Tay: This is a good one. Like I hinted to, we’re a better team when our main scoring threat isn’t Tayshaun Prince. Tayhshaun had a very respectable 17 points on 8/14 shooting, but it he wasn’t just scoring to keep us in the game. He was an option that Philly had to contend with along with Rasheed (19 pts, 6 rbs, 6 blks), Rip (20 pts, 5 rbs), and the player of the game Chauncey Billups who had a 21 point, 12 assist double-double. It was mighty reassuring to see Big Shot doing 14 points and 5 assists worth of damage in the first quarter. Last night should keep Chauncey’s harbingers at bay for a while. The Bench stepped up as well. They didn’t put huge numbers on the board, but they played great in support of the starters. Stuckey did a good job of finding open teammates for easy bucktets. I particularly enjoyed Arron Afflalo’s effort. Depsite his limited minutes in this series he was ready and came in and did whatever was needed to help the team.
• Urgency: It was there. The Pistons jumped on the Sixers early and often. They were up by 14 after one and had a lead of 26 at one time. They never got lazy and took the foot off the accelerator.