The third quarter was the turning point in this game as the Pistons outscored the 76ers 34-16 in that quarter and they never looked back. Tayshaun Prince led the way for the Pistons with 23 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists on 11 of 12 shooting from the floor. Rasheed Wallace also had a good game despite only shooting 5 of 12 from the floor as he finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists. Chauncey Billups was only 4 of 16 from the floor but he still finished with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists in this game. Richard Hamilton was also heaving up a lot of bricks as he was 7 of 22 shooting from the floor. He still finished with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. The Pistons are now tied 2-2 in this series.

The Pistons came out flat tonight and the Sixers beat them up. The Sixers outrebounded the Pistons 43-34 on their way to a very easy win in Philly last night. Richard Hamilton led the way for the Pistons with 23 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists. Tayshaun Prince was one of the only Pistons that came to play last night as he was 8 of 9 shooting from the floor and he finished with 18 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists. Chauncey Billups only shot 2 of 11 from the floor but he still finished with 11 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. The 76ers are now up 2-1 in this series.

The Pistons woke up on Wednesday and they dominated the Sixers on both ends of the court. The Pistons shot 54.9% from the floor in this game and they outrebounded the Sixers 42-34. The Pistons also played great defense as they only allowed the Sixers to hit 39.5% of their shots from the floor. The Pistons focused on stopping Andre Iguodala as he finished with 4 points and 4 rebounds on 1 of 9 shooting from the floor. Richard Hamilton led the way for the Pistons with 20 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Antonio McDyess was a monster in the paint with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Rasheed Wallace kept himself busy as he finished with 16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 blocked shots. Tayshaun Prince pitched in with 16 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. The Pistons are now tied up 1-1 in this series at it shifts to Philly for the weekend.

The Sixers caught the Pistons sleepwalking earlier tonight in Detroit. The Pistons only shot 39% from the floor in this game and they were outscored 52-35 in the 2nd half of the game by the Sixers. You can’t blame Rasheed Wallace for the loss as he led the Pistons with 24 points, 9 rebounds and 7 blocked shots. Chauncey Billups had a so-so game as he finished up with 14 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists. Richard Hamilton only shot 5 of 17 from the floor and he finished with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. The Sixers now lead this series 1-0.

This series could get ugly quick as the Pistons are one of the best teams in all of the NBA. Here’s a look at the matchups in this series:

POINT GUARD: Andre Miller is one of the most underrated players in the entire NBA. He played in 82 games (all starts) for the 76ers and he averaged 17.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game. The Sixers will likely need Miller to be a little more selfish in this series with the basketball.

Chauncey Billups is one of the best clutch shooters in the NBA. He played in 78 games (all starts) for the Pistons this season and he averaged 17.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

EDGE: EVEN

SHOOTING GUARD: The 76ers will need Willie Green to make Richard Hamilton work on both sides of the basketball court if they want to win this series. Green played in 74 games (all starts) for the 76ers this season and he averaged 12.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.

Richard Hamilton will attack the Sixers’ defense with his mid-range game on offense. Hamilton played in 72 games (all starts) for the Pistons this season and he averaged 17.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Hamilton will likely have a good series against the Sixers.

EDGE: PISTONS

SMALL FORWARD: The 76ers must win this battle to have any chance of winning this series. Andre Iguodala needs to take more shots than usual in this series. He played in 82 games (all starts) for the 76ers and he averaged 19.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.1 steals per game.

Tayshaun Prince is the defensive stopper on the Pistons. He will have his hands full with Iguodala in this series. He played in 82 games (all starts) for the Pistons this season and he averaged 13.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.

EDGE: 76ERS

POWER FORWARD: Rookie Thaddeus Young will likely be the starter at power forward for the Sixers in this series. He will have to keep his head as he will likely be matched up with Rasheed Wallace. Young played in 74 games (22 starts) for the Sixers this season and he averaged 8.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.

Rasheed Wallace is the master of getting into the opponents head and he will test Young early and often. Wallace played in 77 games (76 starts) for the Pistons this season and he averaged 12.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.7 blocked shots per game.

EDGE: PISTONS

CENTER: Samuel Dalembert really stepped up this season for the Sixers. He played in 82 games (all starts) and he averaged 10.5 points, 10.4 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 2.3 blocked shots per game. He will likely have to dominate the paint to give the Sixers a good shot in this series.

Antonio McDyess did a fine job for the Pistons this season. He played in 78 games (all starts) for the Pistons and he averaged 8.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.

EDGE: 76ERS

BENCH: The 76ers only really go 4-deep on the bench. Louis Williams is a combo guard as he can handle either the point or shooting guard position. Williams played in 80 games (0 starts) for the 76ers this season and he averaged 11.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Power forward Reggie Evans will likely get a lot of playing time in this series with the play to likely be rough around the basket. He played in 81 games (61 starts) for the Sixers last season and he averaged 5.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Rodney Carney didn’t play as well as he did in his rookie season. He played in 70 games (6 starts) this season for the Sixers and he averaged 5.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Rookie F/C Jason Smith had a decent rookie season for the 76ers. He played in 76 games (1 start) for the Sixers and he averaged 4.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.

The Pistons bench is a really solid and young bunch for the most part. Power forward Jason Maxiell is the most impressive player the Pistons bring off the bench. He played in 82 games (7 starts) for the Pistons this season and he averaged 7.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game. Rookie guard Rodney Stuckey showed some promise as a rookie this season. He played in 57 games (2 starts) for the Pistons this season and he averaged 7.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Jarvis Hayes was a solid small forward off the bench for the Pistons this season. He played in 82 games (1 start) for the Pistons this season and he averaged 6.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Juan Dixon was brought over from the Raptors in a trade. He played in 17 games (0 starts) for the Pistons and he averaged 6.5 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. Rookie Arron Afflalo also played well in limited minutes for the Pistons. He played in 75 games (9 starts) for the Pistons and he averaged 3.7 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Amir Johnson is a solid backup big man for the Pistons. He played in 62 games (0 starts) for the Pistons last season and he averaged 3.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Theo Ratliff was brought in late in the season by the Pistons and he is a solid defender. Ratliff played in 16 games (3 starts) for the Pistons and he averaged 3.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game.

EDGE: PISTONS

PREDICTION: PISTONS IN 4 GAMES