NBA Game Summary - Philadelphia at Detroit

04.23.2005

Auburn Hills, MI (Basketball News) - Rasheed Wallace scored 16 of his 29 points in the third quarter, as Detroit overcame an early 16-point deficit for a 106-85 win over Philadelphia in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.

Tayshaun Prince scored 23 points and Richard Hamilton added 17 for the second- seeded Pistons, who lead the best-of-seven series 1-0 with Game 2 slated for Tuesday night at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

"Early on, they [Sixers] got off to a great start," Prince said. "Once we got patient we got some looks at the basket and put them away."

Allen Iverson, fresh off his fourth scoring title, paced the 76ers with a game-high 30 points and 10 assists. Chris Webber added 27 points, while Samuel Dalembert chipped in 10 points and 18 rebounds for seventh-seeded Philadelphia.

After the Sixers went ahead by many as 16 points early in the game, Detroit regained its championship form and took its first lead at 37-36 on Prince’s three-pointer with five minutes left before halftime. Philly continued to fall apart and trailed 48-42 on Hamilton’s three from the right corner. The Pistons then carried a 48-46 lead into the locker room.

Iverson led all scorers at halftime with 14 points, while Antonio McDyess paced the Pistons with 13. Webber added 12 points for the Sixers and Prince netted 11 at the break for Detroit.

"He killed us," Iverson said of McDyess. "It seemed like it was all from the same spot on the floor. They kept running the same play and got him into a rhythm."

Hamilton’s basket early in the third quarter staked Detroit to a 59-49 lead, but the Sixers stormed back and pulled within 62-59 on an Iverson layup. The Pistons then pulled away and led 80-70 after three quarters of action. Wallace netted 16 points in the deciding period.

Wallace buried back-to-back three-pointers midway through the fourth quarter and the Pistons owned a 94-79 advantage. The game was already decided by then and the Sixers suffered the 21-point defeat. Wallace ended 4-of-7 from beyond the arc.

"A loss is a loss, one point or 21 points," Iverson added. "I don’t care about that. We came in here trying to steal a game, and we didn’t get it done. We’ve got another opportunity Tuesday."

Detroit outrebounded the Sixers by a commanding 48-35 margin and will aim for a 2-0 stranglehold in the series on Tuesday.

"Everybody has to be together in this," Prince added.

The 76ers raced out to a 6-0 lead and later made it 12-6 on an Iverson jumper four minutes into the contest. With 4:11 to go in the first quarter, Andre Iguodala sank 1-of-2 free throws for a 20-10 cushion. He later threw down a two-handed jam and the Sixers led, 26-10. Philadelphia had a 28-16 lead after the opening quarter.

Ben Wallace’s seven blocks tied Bob Lanier’s Pistons playoff record...Detroit won three of the four regular season matchups with Philadelphia this season...The Sixers have made the playoffs in six of the last seven seasons...McDyess finished with 15 points, while Rasheed Wallace grabbed 10 boards...Iguodala ended with 10 points...Detroit shot 52 percent for the game, while the 76ers made 40 percent of their shots...Ben Wallace had seven points and 10 rebounds for Detroit...Iverson made 4-of-8 three-pointers.

Post your comment:

No profanity or inaproppriate remarks. All i.p. addresses will be saved and abuse/hate posts will be reported to providers and authorities as part of the anti-spam act of 2003, thank you for posting comments on the articles only.