The defending NBA champion Detroit Pistons took full advantage of a hobbled Shaquille O'Neal in game 4 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday. They got O'Neal into early foul trouble and never let him find his stride in defeating Miami 106-96 a the Palace in Auburn Hills. The series is now even at 2-2.
Shaq was on the court for only 25 minutes after picking up three first half fouls and was limited to 12 points.
Stan Van Gundy, the Heat head coach commented after the game, 'Obviously you want your best players on the floor, and we didn't get that. He was in foul trouble and, you know, that's not good for us, obviously.'
O'Neal's replacement, Alonzo Mourning also picked up three fouls in the first half as did starting point guard Damon Jones. Foul trouble seriously limited what the Heat could do on the court.
Mourning was not pleased with the officiating in the game. 'The tone of the game was set with the way it was being called,' he said. 'Therefore, our approach was a little bit more passive. They were the aggressors. When they got to the rim as much as they did, that's not the way we play the game defensively; the way they waltzed in and got a lot of easy buckets.'
Richard Hamilton was the key man for Detroit. Hamilton scored 28 points on offense and kept Dwayne Wade under control to help lead the Pistons. Rasheed Wallace added 20 for the defending champs. The Pistons also played smart and efficient basketball. They did not commit a single turnover in the first half.
Pistons coach Larry Brown told the Associated Press, 'We're in much better shape than we were after the other night. We all felt this would be a great series, and hopefully that's the case. We have to find a way to win one game on the road and take care of our own court.'
