Pistons beat Bulls, Jazz tame Warriors
DETROIT, Michigan: The Detroit Pistons jumped out to an early lead and never looked back on Monday, defeating the Chicago Bulls 108-87 to stretch their lead in their NBA playoff series.
The Pistons took a two-games-to-none lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semi-final series.
In game one, the Pistons found offensive balance and their trademark defense to stage a 95-69 rout of the Bulls.
They picked up right where they left off on Monday, scoring the first eight points of the game and leading 34-18 after the first quarter.
Detroit Pistons Tayshaun Prince (22) dunks over Chicago Bulls Andre Barrett (right) and Andres Nocioni in Game 2 of their NBA semifinals in Auburn Hills, Michigan on Monday. Reuters |
"The thing that's most surprising is both games haven't been competitive," Bulls coach Scott Skiles said. "Both times from the jump ball, they've owned us all over the floor."
Detroit coach Flip Saunders admitted he was surprised by just how dominant his team had been in the first two games.
"I couldn't have imagined the margins," Saunders said. "We have a lot of respect for Chicago. They beat us three of four times in the regular season. The last game of the season, we played them in our building and they destroyed us.
"But since we got in the playoffs, our guys are playing at a different level."
Chris Webber scored 10 points for the Pistons in the first quarter and finished with 22 to go along with seven rebounds and three assists.
The Bulls again struggled to guard Detroit's frontcourt as Webber was not the only Piston big man to have a big game.
Tayshaun Prince scored 25 points and Rasheed Wallace added 10 and seven rebounds despite being limited to 18 minutes by foul trouble.
All-Star guards Richard Hamilton and Chauncey Billups also gave the Bulls fits.
Hamilton scored 24 points and Billups added 14 and 10 assists for Detroit, which shot 53 percent from the field.
Rookie Tyrus Thomas scored 18 points for the Bulls, who shot 34 percent and never threatened.
Jazz edge upstart
In Salt Lake City, Utah, rookie Deron Williams scored 31 points and had eight assists on Monday as the Utah Jazz pulled off an exciting 116-112 victory over giant killers Golden State in the playoffs.
The Jazz took a 1-0 lead over the Warriors in their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series.
Carlos Boozer, an offensive star in Utah's seven-game first-round triumph over Houston, collected 17 points and 20 rebounds for the Jazz.
Mehmet Okur had 21 points and 11 rebounds for Utah, which outscored Golden State 32-23 in a frantic fourth quarter to secure the victory.
In a back-and-forth contest, the squads traded baskets throughout the final period, the Jazz finally using their size advantage, outrebounding the Warriors 54-36.
Boozer bulled his way through traffic on the game's deciding sequence. After Okur missed a 3-pointer from the left corner, the All-Star forward snatched the offensive rebound and dropped in a soft shot in the lane to make it 114-112 with 17 seconds left.
The Jazz are in the second round for the first time since 2000. Only guard Derek Fisher, who was traded from the Warriors to Utah last summer, and Okur have been this far in the postseason before.
But Utah had less than two days to prepare heading into the series opener after eliminating the Rockets on Saturday night. The Warriors, on the other hand, were well rested and ready to run once again after finishing off a stunning win over Western Conference top seeds Dallas on Thursday.
Golden State became the first No 8 team to beat a top seed in the first round in a best-of-seven format.
AFP
(China Daily 05/09/2007 page24)
