76ers White the Pistons off the court

The 76ers are not a fluke. You hear that all you player haters out there. This playoff series is for real. Again most prognosticators were ready to for the Pistons to pat the young Sixers on the head and send them to bed. Particularly after the thumping in game 2. Not so fast.

This is Philly baby. I have not been to such a fantastic playoff game since ... ah ... since 2001. The white T-shirt clad fans where ravenous during the introductions. The game started fast. A 'Dre Dala dish to Young who hits a sweet jumper. A 'Dre steal on the other end and you knew that game was on! The energy in the building was incredible. There was a constant buzz. Cheers for every Sixers move. Jeers for every Pistons advance. And then there was Reggie Evans.

Reggie, Reggie, Reggie!

Evans had the crowd whipped into a frenzy. It feed off his energy. The Sixers feed of his energy. The Pistons battled to a 20-20 tie in the 1st period, but they did so with incredible shooting. The Sixers lead by a mire 4 points at the half ( 44-40). But I have never seen a game played at such a fast pace for so few points scored. It felt like the Sixers had scored 60. The Sixers were playing their game. They Sixers were imposing their will. The pistons turn-overs were ticking up at a paced that was unheard of.

Rip Hamilton was all the Pistons had. You could see he was determined not to lose this game. His shooting was extraordinary. His cuts through the lane were crisp. He was bodied up on defense and playing with attitude. The Sixers managed to use that aggression against him. As his fouls mounted up the Pistons play went down.

Philly just took over the game in the second half. They just keep punching Detroit in the face. There was a 30 second time-out for an injury twice! McDyess suffered a broken nose. Young left the game with a bloody nose. The Sixers were deflecting balls all over the place. Their shell shocked opponent did not score for half the 3rd period! The Sixers just floored it and pulled away to a 15 point lead. Rodney Carney opened the 4th with a 3 pointer and the Pistons were done.

I can't wait for the game on Sunday! My body was still tingling when I woke up in the AM from the energy jolt of the game last nite. There's nothing like a playoff block party in the spring time. I think I'll get there early.