PISTONS SET UP SERIES WIN
Well how do you liven up a round of NBA Conference semi finals? Change the location, that seemed to work for for Game 3 in 2008 at least! So now we have a garuntee of no sweeps and another switch of location for Game 5. The best anyone can do at this point is go 3-1 and some higher seeds looked more likely to do that on the road than others. This is where things get interesting.
In the West, the Pistons faced the Magic in Orlando. The Magic opened the scoring but the Pistons turned it round to 4-1 only for the Magic to turn it round from there and pick up an edge. The lead hit double digits only for the Pistons to go for a late rally but the Magic had the last word of the quarter even if it was over a minute before the buzzer. Jameer Nelson led the home side with 8 points, the Magic led 27-21 at the end of one.
Well the Pistons came up in the second quarter hungry, quickly turned the game round and led 30-27 before the Magic got going. Even then the visitors gave them a rough ride but the Magic were able to build a lead that could withstand further Piston assaults. A further late run from the Magic allowed them to lead 55-44 at the half. Nelson was now on 10 points, Rashard Lewis on 9.
Well the Magic still still have momentum early in the third, leading 63-48 at one point, but then came a 90 second scoreless period for both sides came the Detroit incursion. Well they weren't going to turn the game around without killing it were they? The Magic were completely netralised as the Pistons tied the game without opposition. Only then did the Magic wake up again and even after that the Pistons led 70-67 before a Magic three pointer tied the game at 70 at the buzzer, Richard Hamilton leading the PIstons with 22 points.
So it came down to the final quarter. Once again the Pistons immediately killed the game, allowing themselves to be the only show in town for the opening three and a half minutes. Later on in the quarter the Magic did pull off a comeback though and led 88-86 with just over a minute to go and still led in the dying second but then Tayshaun Prince hit a jumper that won the match 90-89 for the Pistons and put them well and truly in the driving seat.
Elsewhere, the Cavs beat the Celtics 88-77 in Cleveland to tie the series 2-2, reducing it to a three gamer with LeBron leading with 21 points. Out West, the Jazz beat the Lakers 123-115 in overtime in Utah to tie that series 2-2 and give the Lakers a bigger headache than expected. Finally the Spurs are back in business after beating the Hornets 100-80 in San Antonio.
Four games down, one team on the brink, three series deadlocked.
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