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68 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, May 24, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Biz Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 16, 2005 Pistons knot up series with Pacers By STEVE HERMAN The Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS — Over a span of almost eight minutes, the Indiana Pacers managed just one point. In a sequence of 19 shots, they missed 18. The Pacers’ poor shooting put them in a big early hole, and a brief third-quarter comeback was all they could manage the rest of the way as Chauncey Billups scored 29 points to lead the Detroit Pistons past the Pacers 89-76 Sunday, tying their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series 2-2. Game 5 is at Detroit on Tuesday night. "This has turned into a great series. But the pressure is always going to be on us; we’re the (defending) champs," Billups said. Just as they did Friday night when they blew an 18-point lead, the Pacers went cold from the field — and this time it cost them the game. Advertisement Detroit had a 19-1 first-quarter run and led by 17 in the first half, then took a 20-point lead late in the third period after Indiana had pulled within six. In the final quarter, the Pistons were never threatened. "It was a tough little stretch when they got back in the game. We knew they would make a run," Billups said. "But I wanted to combat that by being extra aggressive. I kind of took it on myself, and they followed me." Indiana’s collapse came early, with a free throw by Jamaal Tinsley the Pacers’ only point in a stretch of almost eight minutes. After that, Billups scored nine points as Detroit quickly built its lead to 17. Rasheed Wallace had 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Richard Hamilton added 13 points and seven assists for the Pistons. "It was answering the bell. We couldn’t afford to go down 3-1 to this team," said Wallace, who guaranteed a victory after the Game 3 loss on Friday. "I couldn’t get a shot to save my life the last game," he said. "Coming into tonight, I don’t think there was no pressure on us. We just had to go out and play and execute." Stephen Jackson led Indiana with 23 points and Tinsley had 17. Jermaine O’Neal, continuing a playoff shooting slump, shot 4-of-15 from the field and finished with 10 points. "I was terrible. I didn’t do anything right," said O’Neal, who has shot just 23 percent in the past two games. "It is a cycle in basketball. It always comes back to you," O’Neal said. "I’m a true believer you should never get too high or too low. ... At some point, I feel it’s going to come back to me." Reggie Miller, who clinched the Game 3 victory with a basket and four free throws in the closing seconds, had seven points on 2-for-6 shooting and missed all four of his 3-point attempts. "It’s pretty obvious after you play a team a number of times, you find out what works," Detroit coach Larry Brown said. "As the series has gone on, we’ve tried to be more committed to a pick-and-roll defense, changing up a bit. The big factor was they didn’t get out on the break much. "And when our defense is set, that’s when you’re going to get turnovers and be a little more difficult to score against," Brown said. Indiana’s only lead came in the opening minutes, when two baskets by Dale Davis and a 3-pointer by Jackson helped the Pacers to a 9-2 lead. It didn’t last long. The Pacers missed their next 13 shots, and with the nine points by Billups and baskets by Antonio McDyess and Richard Hamilton, Detroit made it 21-10 before a basket by O’Neal — his first after 14 straight misses since the first quarter of Game 3 on Friday. "They really raised the level of their game. Unfortunately, after a great start, we struggled," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "Some of it, the decision-making wasn’t great. We had some good shots but couldn’t hit a bull in the rear end with a bass fiddle." Detroit led 21-13 after the first quarter, then the Pacers missed their first five shots of the second period — making them 1-for-19 over a 13-minute stretch spanning the first two quarters. Their shooting — 16 percent for the game at that point — improved in the second period with baskets by Tinsley and reserves James Jones and Fred Jones. A flying dunk by Fred Jones cut Detroit’s lead to 10 points. Anthony Johnson then hit one of two free throws to make it 43-34, but Tayshaun Prince hit two free throws and a short jump hook to push the lead to 47-34 at halftime. The Pacers pulled to 56-50 with five minutes left in the third quarter, but once again they went cold, and a 3-pointer by Prince capped a 16-2 run for the Pistons’ biggest lead — 72-52. Indiana came no closer than 12 points the rest of the way and finished the game shooting 37 percent to Detroit’s 41 percent. Notes: The winner of this series will play Miami in the Eastern Conference finals; the Pacers were 3-1 against the Heat in the regular season, and the Pistons were 2-1. ... Indiana’s Jeff Foster, who had a career-high 20 rebounds in Game 2 and 12 in Game 3, had only one rebound in 12 minutes. ... The Pacers shot only 3-of-19 on 3-point attempts. ... Billups’ 29 points moved him past John Salley into sixth place (800) in Pistons’ career playoff scoring. Hamilton is fifth with 1,055 points. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg diamonds Distance Education Diamonds Online Poker Auto Insurance Mesothelioma Slippers Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation teleconferencing Website Design & Marketing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Mortgage Calculator Free Home-Loan Referrals Payday Loans Advertisement s