May 9, 1990 |
Against another graybeard, maybe. Against a fading veteran like Dennis Johnson, sure, Maurice Cheeks can play 48 minutes and make you nostalgic for his quiet magnificence with the 76ers. Isiah Thomas is not Dennis Johnson. Isiah Thomas is still in his prime, an all-star. At 28, he is five years younger than Cheeks; quicker, a more determined scorer, still able to dance a hugging lambada on defense. In the New York Knicks' debilitating 112-77 loss to the Detroit Pistons last night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, Cheeks could not keep up with Thomas.
February 6, 1991 |
It was a tale of two halves for the 76ers last night, a best-of-times, worst-of-times kind of night that ended with the Detroit Pistons pulling out a 107-98 win. The Sixers come home winless from this two-game road trip, having lost two games in which they held fourth-quarter leads. This collapse was somewhat more explainable than the one against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday, but no easier to take. After shooting 63 percent and scoring 64 points in the first half - the most points scored in a half by a Pistons opponent this season - the Sixers dragged home with 34 second-half points and 32 percent shooting.
March 21, 1991 |
The 76ers speed toward the end of the regular season in a rush-hour race for the best available playoff seedings. The four teams bunched from the third to sixth positions continue to veer around one another, passing on the shoulder when necessary. The lights all go red on April 21, and two teams will emerge with home- court advantages in the first round. The Sixers, a team slightly out of control on the road, would like to be one of those lucky clubs. Last night, as the Sixers beat the Detroit Pistons, 107-103, at the Spectrum, they further tightened the race to the finish and threw in a little remember-this, just in case the Pistons should appear on their postseason agenda.
May 16, 1991 |
Much has been said over the years about the mystique of the Boston Celtics and the storied Boston Garden, but last night, the Detroit Pistons ignored that bit of NBA folklore. As the Celtics came storming back from an 18-point third-quarter deficit to the brink of yet another extraordinary victory, the Pistons kept their wits. The two-time defending NBA champions squeezed a 116-111 victory out of a tension-packed final minute to take a 3-2 lead in this best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series, despite a heroic effort by Boston.
June 2, 1989 |
The Detroit Pistons are just one game away from the chance to fulfill their wait-until-next-year promise against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers won their second straight NBA title last season by winning the last two games of a seven-game series against the Pistons. The Lakers have had two other opportunities to defeat the same team twice in a row for the league championship. They failed against the Sixers in 1982 and '83 and failed against New York in '72 and '73. The Chicago Bulls would like to make sure the Lakers don't get a chance to succeed this year.
June 9, 1989 |
The Los Angeles Lakers, playing without their heart, soul, lungs and the league's MVP, took the Detroit Pistons to the very limit in Game 2 of the NBA Finals last night before losing, 108-105. The Pistons now lead the best-of-seven series 2-0. The third game will be played Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles. Despite losing Magic Johnson to a strained hamstring in the third quarter, the Lakers made a late run at the Pistons and could have tied the game with eight seconds to play.
June 1, 1989 |
The wait went deep into the game, long into the night, as Michael Jordan lurked dangerously on the court like some unexploded weapon left over from a war. The wait continues. Jordan did not detonate last night. He played defense and he passed off, but he didn't spray the Palace with shots, improbable or otherwise. Intent perhaps on proving that the Bulls are more than a one-man show, Jordan became just another player on the team and, in the end, that team wasn't good enough.
February 4, 1989 |
Charles Barkley and Maurice Cheeks returned to the playing floor at the Spectrum last night, but, unfortunately for the 76ers, so did the Detroit Pistons. Displaying their normal blend of aggressive defense and a motion offense that yielded a high percentage of close-in shots, the Pistons stayed in control all night and won going away, 124-106. Adrian Dantley, the subject of recent trade speculation, hit all 11 shots he tried in the second half to finish with 33 points. The Pistons made 60 percent of their shots after halftime to turn what had been a five-point game into a runaway.
May 10, 1988 |
If the Detroit Pistons weren't especially fatigued after unexpectedly being extended to the five-game limit by the Washington Bullets in the first round of the NBA playoffs, they now will have the drives, spins and skywalks of Michael Jordan to contend with. Jordan and the Chicago Bulls will take on the Pistons tonight at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich., in the opening game of what should be a very interesting best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal. "It should be a good series," Detroit coach Chuck Daly said yesterday.
June 2, 1988 |
It's springtime, and for most Philadelphians, it's time to watch baseball, picnic in the park or enjoy the balmy weather at the shore. But for one Frankford family, springtime means professional basketball. The family of Ralph Lewis - of the NBA's Detroit Pistons - is watching the Pistons battle the Boston Celtics for the Eastern Conference championship. Whenever the playoff games are broadcast, Lewis' father, Ralph Sr., his mother, Joyce, sisters, Dawan and Nicole, and brother, Braxton, are in front of the television.