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On the brink Disappointed Pistons face daunting task in Game 4Posted: Friday May 23, 2003 12:06 AMUpdated: Friday May 23, 2003 12:09 AM EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- After losing two games played at their preferred crawl, the Detroit Pistons found themselves in a sprint Wednesday night. The result was the same: they lost. The Pistons, who came up short in a pair of defensive struggles decided by the final shot, watched the New Jersey Nets run early and often as they breezed to a 97-85 victory at the Continental Airlines Arena. "We didn't come out tonight and compete at all," said forward Corliss Williamson after the Pistons fell behind 3-0 in the Eastern Conference finals, leaving the Nets on the verge of their second straight trip to the NBA Finals. In the Pistons' locker room, NBA rebounding leader Ben Wallace sat quietly, his head down, nervously rubbing his hands together. His teammates were mostly silent, dressing quietly as they considered facing elimination in the next game. The Nets ran from the opening tip, with Kenyon Martin scoring on a layup just four seconds into the game. The Pistons responded with a 7-0 run, but offered little defense as the Nets -- led by Jason Kidd -- opened up their offense for the first time in the series. "We're disappointed, obviously," said Detroit coach Rick Carlisle. "New Jersey is playing at an unbelievably high level right now." By the end of the first quarter, the Nets were up by five -- and by halftime, after a layup by Kidd with 2.5 seconds left, the lead had grown to 11. The Pistons never found an answer for Kidd, who ran over Detroit for 34 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. New Jersey scored 32 points on the fast break, and 21 off 18 Detroit turnovers as it cranked up its game on both ends of the floor. Carlisle said his squad was simply unable to match New Jersey's intensity; the Pistons scored just four fast-break points. The Nets dominated inside, too, outscoring the Pistons 44-24 in the paint. "With us, it comes down to balance," he said. "We need everybody playing at a high level." Other than Richard Hamilton, who scored 21, the Pistons struggled mightily on offense. Kidd's opposite, point guard Chauncey Billups, had just seven points in only 18 minutes. Tayshaun Prince, inserted into the starting lineup one game ago as an offensive spark, was benched for the start of the second half and scored just four points. "We were getting some good looks," said Williamson, who scored 15 points but shot just 3-for-9 from the floor. "They're doing a good job of making us work for our shots." If not for a second period where the Pistons hit 14 of 17 free throws, the game could have been over by halftime. In the first two games, the Pistons' offensive struggles were masked by their defensive prowess -- the Nets were limited to 76 and 88 points. But New Jersey hit the 80-point mark with 1:08 left in the third quarter, and cruised through the fourth. The Pistons had no answers, and neither did Carlisle after the loss. "I tip my hat to them," he said. As for game four, Carlisle said his team needed to "match New Jersey's energy." Williamson offered more pointed advice: "We need to play with some pride." |
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