2005 NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference Finals Game 4

Game 4 of the Eastern Conference showed how much desire the Detroit Pistons have to win. The defending champions dominated the game from the opening tipoff and they never looked back. The Heat suffered their first road loss of the playoffs this year. The Pistons played an almost flawless first half with 17 assists, and no turnovers, to gain a 14 point lead at halftime. The Pistons also took advantage of Shaquille O'Neal's early foul trouble to build an early lead.

Shaq picked up his second foul just 6:14 into the first quarter with the score tied 11-11. When Shaq returned 2 1/2 minutes into the second quarter the Heat were behind 32-25. Shaq quickly picked up his third foul of the first half 2 minutes later when he was called for bumping Richard Hamilton on a drive. Shaq was on the bench for the rest of the half.

With Shaq on the bench for the majority of the first half, the Pistons then keyed in on shutting Dwayne Wade down. The divide and conquer approach gave the Pistons a crucial win to tie the series at 2 games each. DWade scored 28, but without a substantial contribution from Shaq who had 12 points the Heat were at a major disadvantage. The Pistons had great games from Rip Hamilton with 28 points, Rasheed Wallace with 20, Chauncey Billups added 17 points, and Tayshaun Prince had 15 points.

The Pistons as a team only had 6 turnovers. If the Pistons continue to cut down on turnovers, the Heat will have to beat the Pistons at their game with good defense and flawless offensive execution. The Heat also need major contributions from Shaq, Eddie Jones, and Damon Jones. They will need three solid scoring performances for the remainder of the series to win the Eastern Conference Finals. The series will go 7 games with the Heat winning (4-3).

#1Miami Heat vs #2 Detroit Pistons
(101.54 PPG #4 in Scoring) (93.32 PPG #24 in Scoring)
(95.02 PPG #8 in Defense) (89.46 PPG #2 in Defense)
(+6.52 #3 in Scoring Differential) (+3.86 #6 in Scoring Differential)

The series is tied 2-2
1. Mon, May 23 – Det 90, Mia 81
2. Wed, May 25 – Mia 92, Det 86
3. Sun, May 29 – Mia 113, Det 104
4. Tue, May 31 – Det 106, Mia 96
5.* Thu, Jun 2 – at Mia, 8:00 pm (TNT)
6.* Sat, Jun 4 – at Det, 8:00 pm (TNT)
7.* Mon, Jun 6 – at Mia, 8:00 pm (TNT)
All times are Eastern Daylight Time
* - If necessary

Head to Head
PG Damon Jones vs. Chauncey Billups
SG Dwyane Wade vs. Richard Hamilton
SF Eddie Jones vs. Tayshaun Prince
PF Udonis Haslem vs. Rasheed Wallace
C Shaquille O'Neal vs. Ben Wallace