Detroit Pistons Send 76ers Home with Game Six Win

To say The Detroit Pistons ran out of the starting gate Thursday night in Philadelphia may be an understatement. Richard “Rip” Hamilton led the charge by hitting his first five shots on Detroit’s way to a crushing series ending 100-77 victory against the Sixers.

Detroit’s early series struggles completely disappeared in the third quarter of game four. From there they went on to win the next three games of the series, with the last two by big numbers. Hamilton led Detroit with 24 points, 13 of them coming in Detroit’s solid first quarter where he alone outscored the entire Sixers team. The second part of Detroit’s All-Star backcourt, Chauncey Billups added 20 with 7 assists.

Detroit, like in game five, shot a gaudy shooting percentage. The Pistons ended the night shooting 58% while forcing Philly into a 33% shooting night. Only 3 of the Sixers put up double digits and had a difficult time trying to do anything after The Pistons 30-12 first quarter edge.

Detroit moves on to the Second Round against an Orlando Magic team that has been waiting to play for quite some time. Orlando will be rested as they come into Detroit for Game One on Saturday, but with the way Detroit’s been putting up numbers they don’t look like they are going to stop rolling any time soon.

Notables:

· Tayshaun Prince was clearly the MVP of the series for Detroit shooting a 66% in the past six game.

· The game was put away early for the Pistons giving their starters ample time on the bench.

· Andre Iguodala, who struggled the whole series, was called for a technical foul. He led his Sixers team with 16 points.

· Billups and Hamilton combined for 45 points without playing in the fourth quarter.

· Fan favorite Amir Johnson put up 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting with 6 boards in 11 minutes for Detroit.

· Just 12 assists on the night for the Sixers who were forced by Detroit’s defense into playing one on one.

· A Philadelphia run early in the second cut Detroit’s lead to 12, but when Detroit’s starters they closed the half with a 51-33 lead after Billups hit a jumper at the buzzer.



[top image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/b24chicago/]