Michael Jordan's locker room tirade woke up the Chicago Bulls. Detroit coach Chuck Daly hopes the Pistons will have the same reaction to his outburst.
How the Pistons respond will determine who advances to the NBA Finals - the Bulls or the defending champions.The Bulls, bidding to become only the fifth team to overcome an 0-2 deficit in a best-of-7 series, captured their second straight victory Monday, defeating Detroit 108-101, to even the series 2-2.
Game 5 will be played Wednesday night in suburban Auburn Hills, Mich., and Game 6 Friday night back in rowdy Chicago Stadium. Game 7, if needed, would be played in Auburn Hills.
"We did what we wanted to do," said Jordan, whose heated words after Game 2 brought the Bulls back to life. "It's a three-game series right now.
"We have the momentum and the confidence going into the Palace on Wednesday. We have to steal a game from them and win."
Jordan, of course, was the trigger man, scoring 42 points Monday following a 47-point performance in Saturday's Chicago victory after being held to just 54 points combined in the first two games.
But the Pistons, like everyone else in the NBA, expect Jordan to score. After all, he averaged 33.6 points during the regular season, winning his fourth scoring title.
What the Pistons didn't expect was to see the Bulls play defense with the intensity they did over the weekend. Chicago coach Phil Jackson obviously learned something while studying the so-called "Jordan rules" on the Detroit tapes.
"I told the guys before the game started they get six fouls in the NBA; Use every one of them," Jackson said. "We didn't use all of them, but we let them know we came to play.
"If we keep this intensity up, no one will be able to beat us."
That's the kind of attitude the Pistons generally take into games. Detroit was 4-1 against Chicago during the regular season, holding Jordan to just 26 points per game.
"I'm surprised," Detroit's Joe Dumars said. "I fully expected us to come out with intensity and we didn't. They're obviously locked in on the Detroit Pistons. They kind of remind me of us a few years ago."
The Bulls, who allowed opponents an average of 106.2 points per game during the regular season, held the Pistons to 96.7 points in the first three games.
Then, in the first quarter Monday, the Bulls defense simply smothered the Pistons. Detroit made only 4 of 16 shots during the period while turning the ball over seven times for nine easy Chicago points.
A basket by Scottie Pippen with 7:38 still to play in the first quarter put Chicago ahead 10-8 and the Bulls led the rest of the game, pushing the lead to as many as 19 points early in the third quarter.
The Pistons, who blew a 14-point third-quarter lead in Game 3, tried to turn the tables in Game 4. They got the deficit down to 71-68 at the start of the fourth quarter, but then Jordan took over.
With Jordan scoring 19 points in the final period, the Bulls built their lead back to 14 points and Detroit was forced to spend the last minute of play fouling Chicago players, hoping for a miss and a miracle.
Neither were forthcoming.
"They took us out of everything in the first half. We came back, but they were not to be denied today," Daly said. "We weren't good enough."
Daly was clearly angry with his players during the game. Seldom-used William Bedford even played six minutes as the coach tried to shake things up.
Afterward, Daly said he felt the Pistons had it too easy during the season.
"You have to understand, our club probably has not been pushed, with our backs to the wall, all season," Daly said. "Now we'll see how we respond."
All five Chicago starters were in double figures in Game 4, including Bill Cartwright, who had scored only 17 points in the first three games combined.
Isiah Thomas had 26 points for Detroit, Dumars 24 and Dennis Rodman 20. But the suddenly defensive Bulls held Bill Laimbeer scoreless in Game 3 and allowed him only four points in Game 4.
The Chicago coach called it the greatest game the Bulls had played all season.
"But Wednesday, it will be tougher," Jackson said. "We have to make some adjustments for Wednesday."