Joe Dumars is driven by one of the great motivators - fear - when he plays against Michael Jordan.
He was driven both offensively and defensively Sunday. As a result, the Detroit Pistons are up 1-0 on the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference finals.Dumars scored 18 of his 27 points as Detroit took charge in the third quarter in Detroit's 86-77 win. At the other end, Dumars held Jordan, who was playing with a painful hip injury, to eight second-half points.
"The feel of embarrassment keeps you going," Dumars said. "You know Micheal can get 60 at any time. That's what keeps you sharp defensively."
Dumars had a right to feel nervous. The Pistons have lost only three playoff games in the last two years - two of them to Chicago.
In the conference finals last year, Jordan scored 32 points in the first game and 46 in the third as Chicago went up 2-1 in that series. Detroit finally got untracked, won the next three and went on to sweep Los Angeles for the NBA championship.
"Dumars had a good second half and Michael had a good first half," Chicago Coach Phil Jackson said. "You have to guard against Detroit's ability to play a big quarter. His 18-point quarter contributed to our failing."
Jordan, who came into this series averaging 40.3 points in nine previous playoff games, took a hard fall while driving across the key with 1:36 remaining in the first quarter. But he scored 12 points in the second quarter and had 26 at halftime to help the Bulls take a 43-39 lead.
"I think I had my legs cut out from under me, and if so I don't know who did it," Jordan said. "It couldn't have been a foul because they didn't call it."
Jordan said the hip was fine as long as he kept playing, but it tightened up during the halftime break.
That's when Dumars came to life, scoring 14 of the Pistons' first 15 points in the third quarter.
"Joe used his quickness to get by me and the rest of the defense," Jordan said. "He got hot and we should have been able to collapse on him. He's a very talented player and it comes as no surprise that he was their key man today."
Dumars was voted the most valuable player when the Pistons swept the Los Angeles Lakers for their first NBA championship last year, but he still surprises his teammates.
"Joe played a sneaky-good game," center Bill Laimbeer said. "I saw him at the end of the game when CBS was interviewing him and I couldn't believe he had scored 27 points."
The best-of-7 series continues Tuesday night at the Palace, then shifts to Chicago Stadium for afternoon games Saturday and Monday.
The Pistons, meeting Chicago for the second straight year in the conference finals, are 23-6 against the Bulls over the past three years, including the playoffs.
Over the past two seasons, Detroit has held playoff opponents to less than 100 points in 23 of its last 26 games. Last year, Detroit won the title in 17 games, holding playoff opponents to an average of 92.9 points, the best defense since the advent of the 24-second clock 35 years ago. The Pistons allowed fewer than 100 points in 15 of the 17 games.
"We know they're a good defensive team," Chicago guard John Paxson said. "It's like they pick their time to run when they need it. They keep you in a halfcourt game because of their great rebounding."
Neither team shot well. Detroit shot 42.3 percent for the game and the Bulls shot 37.8. The Pistons also had a 48-36 advantage in rebounds, 12-7 at the offensive end.
The Pistons, bidding to become only the third franchise in NBA history to repeat as champions, overcame the cold first half with 65 percent shooting in the third quarter to go from a four-point deficit to a 67-60 lead.
But, again, defense was the key as Bulls went scoreless for the first 3:23 of the third period.
"We struggled offensively but not defensively," Detroit coach Chuck Daly said. "We did a great job on the boards, limiting them to one shot. Each team struggled offensively and I think you'll see in the next game that both teams will loosen up and it will be more of an offensive game."
The last team to win consecutive NBA titles was Los Angeles in 1987 and 1988. The Boston Celtics did it in 1968 and 1969.