Auburn Hills, Mich. – Remember when the Detroit Pistons won a deciding Game 7 on the road in the 2005 Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat? Losing last year’s NBA Finals in seven games to San Antonio is still a painful memory for Detroit. And winning two straight do-or-die games to knock off Cleveland in this year’s Eastern Conference semifinals was tough, too.
Time and again, the Pistons seem to put themselves in tough situations. The Heat helped continue that trend Tuesday night.
Miami defeated the Pistons 91-86 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals at The Palace of Auburn Hills. After Thursday’s Game 2 the series heads to Miami for two games, and the Pistons quickly could have their backs against the wall again.
“It’s nothing new to us,” said Pistons guard Chauncey Billups, who had 19 points and seven assists but missed 13 of 19 shots. “We always put ourselves in this situation. Not on purpose – they put us in this situation tonight. But we’re going to be fine, man. We’re going to be fine.”
Miami was fine and well-rested entering the East finals rematch after quickly disposing of New Jersey with their last game May 16. The Pistons had just one day off after beating Cleveland. The rest, or lack thereof, played a role for both teams.
“We’ve been off for seven days so we used that early on and made shots,” said Miami guard Dwyane Wade, who had 25 points on 9-of-11 shooting in nearly 27 minutes.
Said Detroit coach Flip Saunders: “When you have a series (end) and you come back (to play), you become more emotionally drained maybe than physically.”
The Heat shot 56.2 percent, made 5-of-14 3-pointers and had five players in double figures. The Pistons shot just 37.8 percent, including 15-of-41 from their starting backcourt of Billups and Richard Hamilton (22 points) and 3-of-10 from forward Rasheed Wallace.
“We know (the Pistons) are also a great, great shooting team,” Miami coach Pat Riley said. “So we want to close out their air space.”
The Heat opened with an 11-0 lead and finished the first quarter up 33-25.
Miami all-stars Shaquille O’Neal and Wade combined for 21 points in the first quarter. But Wade went to the bench for the rest of the first half with three fouls with 8:56 left in the second and Miami up 36-34. O’Neal, who had 14 points in 29 minutes, soon followed Wade with his third foul at the 4:59 mark. Detroit couldn’t take advantage and went into the half trailing 48-44.
“The last four or five minutes of the second quarter could have been the determining factor in this game,” Riley said.
Detroit took its first lead with 6:55 left in the third quarter. But Miami recovered to finish the third with a five-point lead.
Former Nugget James Posey’s 3-pointer with 10:08 left in the fourth quarter gave Miami a seven-point lead. With O’Neal on the bench, Miami led by 10 after a dunk by Alonzo Mourning. With O’Neal still resting, the Heat went up 77-67 after a Wade jumper with 5:54 left.
Detroit called a timeout six seconds later. Pistons fans responded by heading for the exits.
“The game on Thursday becomes a huge game,” Saunders said. “No question.”
Staff writer Marc J. Spears can be reached at 303-820-5449 or mspears@denverpost.com.
