Detroit Pistons take NBA title

Detroit Pistons, who rely on teamwork over glitz and glamor, made history on Tuesday night as they crushed the heavily-favored Los Angeles Lakers 100-87 at home to claim their first NBA championship since 1990.

The Detroit victory earned their Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown the first NBA title in his 21-year career while denying his LA counterpart Phil Jackson a record 10th championship ring.

Showing attacking flair to go along with their trademark gritty defense, the descendants of the Bad Boys completed a stunning upset and ended one of the great dynasties in league history with the Game Five victory, sweeping the three middle games of the best-of-seven series, something never before accomplished since the NBA introduced the two-three-two finals format in 1985.

Ben Wallace notched 18 points and 22 rebounds to help Detroit become the first Eastern Conference team to win the title since the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls in 1998, while five Pistons have points in double figures with 14 points from finals MVP Chauncey Billups, 21 from Richard Hamilton, 17 from Tayshaun Prince and 11 from Rasheed Wallace.

Kobe Bryant scored 24 points to lead the Lakers, and O'Neal added 20 points and eight rebounds for a team that was built to win a championship with the addition of Karl Malone and Gary Payton this season. Derek Fisher and Slava Medvedenko were the only other Lakers in double figures, each scoring 10 points.

Malone was replaced in the starting lineup by Medvedenko, who helped the Lakers to an early 14-7 lead behind 7-for-11 shooting.

But after weathering the short-lived challenge, the Pistons stamped their authority on the contest in the second quarter to surge ahead 55-45.

The Lakers would never again get closer than nine points and at one stage trailed by as much as 28, while the Pistons stepped on the accelerator to power to an 82-59 third-quarter lead.

Source: Xinhua