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Pistons, Suns Win Easy in Series Openers

Posted on: Tuesday, 10 May 2005, 06:00 CDT

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Ben Wallace swooped across the lane for a hook shot, scored on a drop-step move, flicked in a finger roll and made a fadeaway jumper.

Rick Carlisle probably couldn't believe what he was seeing.

The NBA's Defensive Player of the Year, who was told not to shoot when Carlisle was his coach, scored 14 of his 21 points in the first half as Detroit built a big lead and easily beat the Indiana Pacers 96-81 on Monday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

"My plan was to attack the basket," Wallace said. "In the past when we played them, they haven't really guarded me, so I wanted to force them to guard me."

When the Pistons fired Carlisle two years ago and hired Larry Brown, Wallace was encouraged to be a threat on offense instead of just a rebounder and defender as he was under Carlisle for two seasons.

"It allowed teams to pretty much play five against four," Wallace said. "Coach Brown encouraged me to get involved and to make plays for myself and my teammates."

Wallace averaged 9.5 points last year, then a career high, and improved to 9.7 this season. In the first round against Philadelphia, he scored a career-high 29 points and averaged 12.8 points during the series.

"Larry has done a great job of giving Ben an opportunity to be an offensive player," Carlisle said.

Wallace, who also had 15 rebounds and four steals, would've had a better night offensively had the notoriously poor free-throw shooter not missed 10 of 15 at the line.

In the night's other game, Phoenix took a 1-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals by beating Dallas 127-102.

On Tuesday night, it's Washington at Miami and Seattle at San Antonio. The host teams both lead 1-0.

Wallace was relieved that Detroit and Indiana were able to just play basketball for the first time this season at The Palace.

"We sort of left the past in the past and that's a good thing for both teams, and the league," said Wallace, who was suspended for six games for his role in the infamous brawl in November.

The Pacers' two previous road games against the Pistons were marred by the melee - which started on the court, spilled into the stands and went back onto the court - and a phone threat of a bomb in Indiana's locker room, delaying the second game at The Palace by almost 90 minutes.

Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Wednesday night.

"It's a long series," Jermaine O'Neal said. "We don't feel like we have major problems."

Just as both teams predicted, they were able to play without unusual distractions.

Indiana's Stephen Jackson and O'Neal, suspended for 30 and 15 games, respectively, for their roles in the brawl, were booed louder than the rest of their teammates during pregame introductions and sometimes when they had the ball.

That seemed to be the only carry-over from the regular-season matchups in suburban Detroit.

After winning at Boston in Game 7, the Pacers were left with only one day of rest before facing Detroit, which was off six days after eliminating Philadelphia in Game 5.

"We do not have any excuses," Jackson said. "They wanted to come out and make a statement and they made it."

Indiana scored the first basket, then fell behind and couldn't do much about it.

O'Neal had a great start, then cooled down, finishing with 22 points. Jackson didn't score until early in the second quarter and finished with 15 points. Both players signed autographs for fans before the game.

The Pacers' Ron Artest, suspended for the rest of the season for his part in the fracas, is expected to practice with his teammates when they return to Indianapolis later this week.

Reggie Miller, who plans to retire after the season, scored just six points - nearly 10 below his playoff average - and struggled to stay with Richared Hamilton. Jamaal Tinsley added 13 points for the Pacers.

Hamilton had 28 points, while Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace each scored 11.

O'Neal prevented the Pacers from falling behind earlier by scoring 12 of their first 16 points. Detroit led 23-20 after the first quarter.

The Pistons built a cushion by outscoring Indiana 11-4 to open the second quarter and led by as much as 16 before taking a 52-38 lead at halftime. They started the fourth quarter with a 72-57 lead.

"We are playing a team that is bringing a different level of force than we have seen in the last couple weeks, and we will have to step it up in a lot of areas," Carlisle said.

Suns 127, Mavericks 102

At Phoenix, Amare Stoudemire set career playoff highs of 40 points and 16 rebounds.

Phoenix had not played in eight days after sweeping Memphis, but the Suns came out rested and running against the Mavericks, who were coming off a 40-point victory over Houston in Game 7 of their first-round series Saturday night.

Joe Johnson had 25 points and Shawn Marion 23 points and 11 rebounds in a game the Suns led from the start.

Steve Nash was presented the league's most valuable player trophy by NBA commissioner David Stern before the game - in front of the team he left after six seasons when Mavericks owner Mark Cuban refused to come close to the five-year, $65 million he got from the Suns.

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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