Pistons Ready to Face Lakers in Game 3

By GREG BEACHAM, AP Sports Writer

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - The NBA finals move to the Detroit area for Game 3 tonight with the series between the Los Angeles Lakers (news) and the Detroit Pistons (news) tied 1-1.


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While home court hasn't been much of a factor in the first two games of the series, the switch to The Palace of Auburn Hills may have an impact. Either way, the Pistons are not doubting their abilities to rally past their Game 2 collapse.


Just a few years ago, Kobe Bryant's unbelievable 3-pointer in Game 2 pretty much would have wrapped up the NBA Finals (news - web sites) for the Los Angeles Lakers. But the Detroit Pistons believe the team's mystique is fading.


"Granted, they're a good team, but we ain't scared of nobody," Detroit forward Rasheed Wallace said. "I don't know why all you cats think we're scared of the Lakers, or that the Lakers are this dominant force. We ain't scared of those cats, man."


Coach Larry Brown's decision not to foul the Lakers in the final seconds drew tremendous scrutiny from fans and media alike, but he insists he would play the final moments the same way.


A foul would have given the Lakers two free throws — when they needed three points to tie — with less than 10 seconds left. The Pistons had plenty of opportunities to send a bad free-throw shooter to the line before Bryant launched his shot.


"We don't foul in a situation like that," Brown said, explaining he feared a four-point play. "I thought about it. We talked about if they threw it inside, yeah, when Shaq gets it, put him on the line. But I don't want to take a chance like that."


Brown's decision allowed Bryant to complete the Lakers' rally from a six-point deficit in the final minute. The Pistons were eviscerated, scoring just one basket in the overtime period — a historic low in a finals game.


But there's ample reason to believe Bryant's shot won't carry the same dramatic weight as Horry's game-winning 3-pointer against the Kings two years ago. Or even Derek Fisher's game-winning jumper in Game 5 of this season's second round against San Antonio.


The Pistons soundly outplayed the Lakers for nearly all of the first two games in Los Angeles, running their simple pick-and-rolls and post-up plays to perfection, then hounding the Lakers' supporting cast into near-complete ineffectiveness on the other end of the court.


Chauncey Billups has embarrassed Gary Payton and Fisher, the Lakers' struggling point-guard duo — though Fisher is less than full strength with a knee injury. Wallace also has dominated Karl Malone, who re-injured his knee during Game 2 and might not be available in Detroit.


Payton and Malone weren't a part of the Lakers' championship teams, so they've only seen the mystique from the opposing bench. In search of the first titles of their career, they don't subscribe to the laid-back approach of Bryant or Lakers coach Phil Jackson.


"We've got to get the first one, that's the most important thing (in Detroit)," Payton said. "We've got to go into Game 3 thinking we're going to get it. We need three, and we probably ain't going to get three in a row, so we've got to get a good start on it."


The next three games will be played in the Detroit suburbs before a rowdy crowd that will bear no resemblance to the fans at Staples Center, which has been quiet even by its own standards this postseason.


Unless one of the teams wins all three games, something a home team has never done since the NBA switched to a 2-3-2 finals format in 1985, the series returns to Los Angeles on June 17.


As Bryant calmly stated after each game in Los Angeles, both teams expect a long series. Brown probably will have another opportunity to make a game-changing strategic decision — and Bryant probably will get a chance to make Brown regret it.


"The hangover was (Tuesday) night," Brown said. "That's over. We went to L.A. and gave ourselves a chance to win two games against a great team. That's the way we're going to look at it."