| Anez Sez |
A GUT-WRENCHING LOSS
Pistons 90 Magic 89.
We couldn't have picked a worse time to play one of our worst quarters of the year.
After a Mo Evans three pointer at the 9:06 mark of the third, Orlando led 63-48. Detroit was demoralized. Their shoulders were slouched. Rasheed was being Rasheed, sauntering over to the scorer's table instead of listening to his head coach during timeouts. The Pistons were on the verge of packing it in without their star, Chauncey Billups, and heading home content with home court advantage at 2-2.
Then, we inexplicably fell asleep.
When you have a great team on the verge of throwing in the towel, you have to go right for the jugular. We just couldn't close. Unfortunately, it's a common theme in this series so far.
The Pistons, awakened by the Magic's inability to make shots and by Orlando's curious submission to suddenly play a half court slugfest, came to life. They went on a 15-0 run to tie the game at 70 going into the fourth.
The giant lead had evaporated. We let the Pistons off the hook. The momentum was all Detroit's.
Give credit to the Magic in the fourth. They fought back from seven down thanks to Hedo Turkoglu, who tallied 13 of his 20 points in the fourth. But, we just couldn't control Rip Hamilton (32) and Tayshawn Prince, who hit the winning bucket with 8.9 seconds to play.
Turk was amazing in the fourth. But once again, he comes up empty in a late game situation. He beat Boston and Chicago on buzzer beaters in the regular season but in this series he's come up goose eggs. Did he get hit on the final play? Sure...But you're not gonna get that call, especially against Detroit. I would have liked to have seen Hedo pull up from 10 feet. Better yet, I would have liked to have seen Jameer Nelson with the ball in his hands with a chance to win it.
What if...What if....We can replay this one over and over again.
We had the Pistons on the verge of calling it a night. We let 'em off the hook. Detroit made plays with the game on the line. We did not.
Gotta go now...I'm headed to the bathroom for another Tums.
What others are saying
- Piston FansDon't you just love Piston Fans like Andy?
- Writing on the WallThe contests have been determined.
Now it is just a question of who will give in first: the Magic or Hillary? - Are you kidding?The Pistons were demoralized and about to throw in the towel? Please.
Rasheed was leaving the huddle? Something he does every single game?
You claim to have seen every Magic game ever, so I guess you know your own team, but you sure don't know anything about the Pistons. You can't even spell "Tayshaun".
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