Auburn Hills, Mich. – Detroit Pistons guard Chauncey Billups warned skeptics Tuesday morning that they would be mistaken to think the reigning world champions would give up their title without a fight.
And Tuesday night, the Pistons proved Billups right with a Game 3 win that got them back in the NBA Finals.
For the first time during these Finals, the Pistons showcased their trademark physical style during a 96-79 victory over the San Antonio Spurs at the Palace at Auburn Hills. The Spurs lead the best-of-seven series 2-1.
“We’ve never been down 0-2,” said Billups, who scored six of his 20 points early in the fourth quarter to help clinch the win. “But in a situation like that, you’ve got a lot of professionals, a lot of veterans, a lot of experience. And you know how big this game is. You know what it means. And you know the kind of desperation.
“You’ve got to play without fear.”
Considering no team has recovered from a 3-0 deficit to win the Finals since they began in 1947, Game 3 was a must-win for Detroit. The next two games are on Detroit’ court, with Game 4 on Thursday. Neither team has lost at home in this series.
“It’s one game,” Detroit coach Larry Brown said. “Our guys have unbelievable respect for them and realize it’s going to take our very best to make this a competitive series.”
Said Billups, “We all knew how big this game was.”
The Pistons’ backcourt of Billups and Richard Hamilton combined for 44 points, with Hamilton scoring a game-high 24. Ben Wallace had 15 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots. Antonio McDyess added 12 points and nine rebounds.
After averaging 26.5 points in the first two games, Spurs guard Manu Ginobili was limited to seven points on 2-of-6 shooting. Outside of guard Tony Parker (21), no Spurs player had more than 14 points. Detroit scored 23 points off 18 Spurs turnovers.
“Their aggressiveness was up, so that in itself fueled what they were doing,” said Spurs forward Tim Duncan, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds. “They were out in the passing lanes. They got a steal here and there. And then also, that energy kind of builds up and you make runs, you make plays, plays that they were not making the first two games. Nothing else to say about that.
“I just think they were more aggressive than we were.”
The first half was tightly contested. The Pistons never led by more than five, the Spurs never led by more than six. San Antonio led by one point at halftime.
The Pistons went on an 8-0 run, completed by Ben Wallace’s reverse dunk, to take a 54-47 lead with 7:14 left in the third quarter. San Antonio responded with a 9-0 run to take a 56-54 lead. But the Pistons had the momentum going into the fourth quarter, finishing the third quarter with a 9-4 run and a five-point lead. The Spurs had three turnovers in the final 1:07 of the third quarter.
“We have three or four turnovers in a row that gave them easy layups,” Ginobili said. “So when that happens, the whole crowd gets pumped up, they get confident. So it’s like a snowball.”
Said Brown: “Just before the end of the third quarter, we got an unbelievable run. And from then on, we just played at an unbelievably high level.”
A 3-pointer from Billups, followed by an athletic reverse layup over Duncan, put Detroit up 78-69 with 9:20 remaining. Hamilton’s jumper gave Detroit a comfortable 84-69 advantage with 6:37 left. Nine seconds later, the Spurs called a timeout. And soon after, San Antonio realized that the champs weren’t going to lay down like chumps.
“We are a little bit disappointed,” Parker said. “Obviously, Detroit played great basketball.”
Staff writer Marc J. Spears can be reached at 303-820-5449 or mspears@denverpost.com.
