Detroit Pistons' Richard Hamilton (left), Chicago Bulls' P.J. Brown (centre) and Chris Webber reach for a loose ball during Game 6 of their second-round Eastern Conference NBA basketball playoff series in Chicago on Thursday night. Detroit won 95-85.CHICAGO (Reuters):
The Detroit Pistons eased into the Eastern Conference finals with a 95-85 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday, clinching their best-of-seven semi-finals series by a 4-2 margin.
Guard Richard Hamilton top-scored for the Pistons with 23 points and Chauncey Billups added 21, including a perfect 14 points from the free-throw line, as Detroit advanced to the conference finals for a fifth straight year.
"Experience has a tendency to help out," Detroit coach Flip Saunders told reporters. "We have guys who make big shots and big defensive stands."
The Pistons now await the winner of the Cavaliers-Nets series, which Cleveland leads 3-2 going into last night's Game Six in New Jersey, knowing they will enjoy home-court advantage due to their superior regular season record.With a chance to send the series to a decider, the Bulls suffered a return of the poor shooting form that left them in a 3-0 hole, managing just 37 per cent from the field against 57 per cent in Tuesday's Game Five victory.
"You hope you put your best foot forward, otherwise you can walk out feeling a little bit hollow inside. That is how I feel right now," Chicago coach Scott Skiles said. "We didn't have the same juice."
Detroit trailed by five points at the half but shifted the momentum with a 12-1 run to start the third quarter.
"We talked about coming out, getting aggressive and taking the crowd out of the game - getting off to a good start in the second half," Detroit forward Tayshaun Prince said.
Veteran Bulls forward P.J. Brown, 37, starred for the home team with a season-high 20 points, all in the first half. Ben Gordon added 19 points, but team co-captain Kirk Hinrich was ice-cold, hitting just 3-of-13 shots.
"I was just trying to keep us there. The team as a whole was struggling a bit, and I just took advantage of the opportunities I was given," Brown said.
The Pistons came in with an improved focus after dropping two straight games, Saunders said.
"There seemed to be a different aura. We came here to get something done."
The Motown team won the battle of the boards, outrebounding Chicago by 48 to 35, and had only nine turnovers.
Detroit is looking for a repeat of its 2004 NBA world championship with largely the same line-up.
"A Game Seven was never on our mind," Prince said. "The important thing for us was to come out in today's game and be aggressive. We found a way to get the momentum back."
