Auburn Hills, Mich. – Detroit Pistons guard Chauncey Billups recently talked about the keys to overcoming a 3-1 deficit in the first round of the 2003 playoffs against Orlando to win the series. Forget taking it game by game.
The Denver native said in that do-or-die situation, the Pistons took it quarter by quarter, possession by possession.
That formula worked Wednesday night as the Pistons stayed alive in the Eastern Conference finals with a 91-78 victory over the Miami Heat in Game 5 at The Palace at Auburn Hills. The Heat owns a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series with Game 6 on Friday in Miami.
“We came in this game to win it,” said Billups, who had 17 points, 10 assists and five rebounds and made all 11 free throws. “We put everything we had into one game, and we’ve got to do the same exact thing in our next game. It’s like playing Game 7 every game. If you don’t win, you go home.
“We came out doing what we had to do and we put pressure back on them to try to win at home. If not, there’s going to be trouble coming back here to The Palace (for a Game 7 Sunday).”
With the Pistons up against the wall, their faithful fans held signs reading, “We Still Believe” and “If It Ain’t Rough It Ain’t Right.” Before pregame introductions, the big screen above the court read: “Nothing Is Impossible.”
Despite the situation, Detroit coach Flip Saunders didn’t believe his team was stressed before the game.
“There was a calmness with me. There was a calmness with my players,” Saunders said. “And I think we knew what was at hand, what we had to do. I told the players I felt comfortable because I thought the players were focused.”
Four Pistons scored in double figures, led by Tayshaun Prince’s playoff career-high 29 points. Miami’s Dwyane Wade scored a team-high 23 points, but the Heat missed 15-of-19 3-pointers and 14-of-20 free throws.
“Give them credit, they played hard,” Wade said. “They played like a desperate team.”
The Pistons owned a 47-43 lead at halftime, which was encouraging for Miami since center Shaquille O’Neal (19 points, six rebounds) played only 12 first-half minutes because of three fouls. Prince and Richard Hamilton (16 points, 10 rebounds) combined for 29 points by halftime.
Detroit outscored the Heat 26-22 in the third quarter after shooting 50 percent (9-of-18) and making all seven free throws. But Miami didn’t go away easily, well, until the end.
A Wade bank shot with 4:57 left brought Miami within 79-76. But 19 seconds later, Prince hit a 3-pointer.
“Tay was huge,” Billups said. “He was hitting shots outside, inside.”
Miami closed to within 82-78 with 3:30 left on an O’Neal hook shot, but the Heat went scoreless from there, missing its last five shots.
“In the fourth quarter, we have the ability to turn it up,” Saunders said.
Now, it’s back to Miami, where the Heat is 7-1 in the playoffs with four straight wins, including two against Detroit. But the Pistons are 11-2 in deciding playoff games since 2003.
With the Heat hoping to make its first NBA Finals and the Pistons hoping to advance to their third straight, the pressure is mounting.
“We need one game to win,” Wade said. “That’s all we got to do back at home.”
Said Prince: “The pressure is both ways. … They’ve been playing great at home. It’s going to be a tough situation.”
Staff writer Marc J. Spears can be reached at 303-820-5449 or mspears@denverpost.com.
