Detroit vs. Miami

After the win against the Toronto Raptors, the Pistons were looking to extend their win streak to 9. To do that they would have to beat the Miami Heat (last year’s foe in the Eastern Conference) who were looking to beat the Pistons to show the NBA who the King of the East really was. This would be a dog fight right from the beginning as the two teams went back and forth through out the quarter. To start the game off Big Ben was able to beat Shaq on the jump ball which brought several cheers from the crowd. A few possessions later Ben would reject Haslem resulting in a Billups make. After the Heat, led by Jason Williams, made a run to pull ahead of the Pistons, Tayshaun answered with a three to put them within two (7-9). Then Billups and Rip began to pick up the slack by knocking down the threes and the midrange jumpers. After one the Pistons led the heat 27-26.

The Heat began the second quarter with a turnover resulting in a Chauncey fast break lay up putting the Pistons up by three. After the Pistons went on a scoring run the Pistons came back with a Hamilton jumper off a Ben Wallace board. On the next possession Tayshaun had a great hook shot over Alonzo Mourning keeping the game tied. After a defensive rebound by Carlos Arroyo, he passed the ball down the whole court right to Rip for the easy lay. Arroyo was getting extended minutes in the second because he was playing so well that Flip decided to keep him in to rest Chauncey for the second half. At the end of the Half it was the Pistons that led again by one, 53-52.

At the beginning of the third, Sheed started out with an air ball that found its way to Rip for the easy lay up, and of course Sheed started screaming, “I meant that to be a pass.” Then a few possessions later, Sheed shoots over Haslem for the score redeeming him from the previous air ball. After a time out Carlos Delfino came in the game to give Tayshaun a rest and on his first shot attempt he scored cutting the Pistons deficit to only one as the Heat led 65-64. Near the end of the third, Big Ben blocked a shot that found Carlos Delfino for the slam. With three in the books the Pistons were on top of the Heat 79-72.

Sheed would start the fourth quarter with an important three putting the Pistons up by nine. A few possessions later Rip Hamilton would hit Antonio McDyess who would get way up for the slam. Hamilton also was causing havoc on defense as he caused Dwayne Wade to commit two offensive fouls in a row. Tayshaun was also contributing on the defensive end when he blocked a potential Jason Williams lay up. Another block came later in the game when Ben blocked Shaq giving the Pistons the opportunity to pull away and to get the win. Chauncey Billups would be the one to answer the call as he kept driving into the paint either forcing a double team or getting all the way to the hoop for the easy lay up. On one of the last possessions, Chauncey forced the double team and found Sheed for the three putting the Pistons up 104-99. The Pistons never looked back and would hold off the Heat to win 106-101.

The Bench Power House of the Game: Tonight, Carlos Arroyo gets the recognition. He was able to answer the call in the second which is why he received extended minutes. Arroyo was able to connect for four points and had two key assists. Each assist came from throwing the ball perfectly down the court for easy lay ups and jams. One of his passes was to Rip and the other was to Tayshaun.

Here are tonight’s leaders in the major stat categories:

Scoring: Tonight Chauncey was just on able to hit almost whatever he put up. He would finish the game with 30 points.

Assists: Rip gets the nod for the most assists tonight but he was challenged by Chauncey’s 7 assists. His nine would conquer the usual assist leaders assist total but what a night for both players.

Rebounds: Big Ben just dominated Shaq on the boards. Big Ben was able to grab 14 boards for the Pistons including 4 offensive rebounds.

Blocks: Tayshaun and Ben each had two blocks and both Ben and Tayshaun had an important block in the fourth.

Steals: It was a great defensive night for Big Ben, because of his two blocks and two steals. One of his steals came late in the fourth on a Shaq turnover.