Miller Leads 76ers To Road Upset Of Pistons 90-86

I wonder if the Detroit Pistons got the number of the pickup truck, aka Philadelphia 76ers point guard Andre Miller, that ran them over in Sunday’s game at The Palace of Auburn Hills; Miller’s numbers weren’t Chris Paul-like (Miller scored 20 points), but his intangibles and leadership were there in spades and put to good use as Philadelphia pulled off the upset, 90-86, over Detroit.  The win gives Philadelphia a 1-0 advantage over Detroit in their Eastern conference series.  Neither team shot very well (Detroit shot 39% while Philadelphia shot only 43.2%) and the stats were similar in a lot of ways.

Philadelphia led by six points early in the game, but Detroit would score  the last 11 points of the first quarter and in the process held the Sixers scoreless for 5+ plus minutes; their drought would continue into the second quarter. The Pistons’ Rasheed Wallace made a 3-pointer midway through the second period, which capped a 23-6 Detroit run and gave them an 11-point cushion.  Philadelphia came back in the third quarter as they scored the first 8 points of the second half while Detroit would miss its first 6 shots; however, the Pistons would go on an 11-2 run, giving them a 15-point lead.

After the Sixers trailed 62-47, Willie Green made 2 baskets which sparked a 10-0 run; Miller would give the Sixers the lead midway through the fourth quarter.  After Detroit’s Chauncey Billups uncharacteristically missed 3 of 4 free throws and a layup with 2 minutes left in the game, he would make a pair of free throws to pull Detroit to within a point with 45 ticks left on the clock.  The Pistons would set up a shot for Tayshaun Prince, but the shot was short; after the Sixers’ Andre Iguodala made 1 of 2 free throws with 11 seconds remaining, Detroit’s Wallace missed a shot which would have tied the game at 88.  Iguodala would ice the game as he drained 2 free throws with 7 seconds left.

Philadelphia was led by Miller with 20 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists and a steal while Willie Green scored 17 with a rebound, 2 assists and a steal; Iguodala added 16 with 9 rebounds and 8 assists - nearly a triple-double.  Samuel Dalembert - while scoring only 5 points - grabbed 10 rebounds, had a steal and blocked 4 shots.  Detroit was led by Wallace with 24 points, 9 rebounds, an assist, a steal and 7 blocks while Billups scored 14 with 2 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal.  Philadelphia plays at Detroit again on Wednesday.