The New York Knicks advanced to the second round the hard way. The Detroit Pistons were eliminated the same way.
In a series in which both teams shot less than 42 percent from the field and the Pistons set a record for the fewest points in a five-game playoff, Detroit passed its tradition of aggressive play on to the Knicks."The Knicks played Piston-style ball," Joe Dumars said after a 94-87 win on Sunday gave New York a 3-2 victory in the series. "They were physical. Their front line was powerful and their guards made some big shots."
"They played hard," said Detroit center Bill Laimbeer, one of the roughest of the Pistons "Bad Boys" who appeared in the previous five Eastern Conference finals, winning three conference titles and two NBA championships in that span.
"They were bigger and stronger than we were. Hopefully, the league will let them be as physical with Chicago. The Knicks can beat them if they can control the boards like they did against us."
Patrick Ewing had 31 points and 19 rebounds for the Knicks, who play the defending champion Bulls, 67-15 in the regular season, in the second round starting Tuesday night at Chicago Stadium. The Bulls have been idle since Wednesday, when they completed a sweep of Miami.
Isiah Thomas, with 21 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter, made sure the Pistons died hard, scoring their last 19 points.
"I just wasn't going to give up," said Thomas, who averaged just 9.8 points in the first four games of the series. "I wanted to play hard. I didn't want to leave the court without making my last shot."
Ewing made just 11 of 28 shots in Game 5, but was far more aggressive than in Friday's loss when he had 14 field-goal attempts.
"I missed a few shots because I rushed them, but I knew coming in that I had to take it to the basket more," Ewing said. "I knew I had to take better shots, not necessarily more shots."
Ewing got scoring help in the second half from Gerald Wilkins, who scored nine of his 13 points in a five-minute span, and John Starks, who scored seven of his 10 points in the last 2:39 of the game.
"If Gerald and John hadn't done what they did when they did, we wouldn't have won," Ewing said.lead with 10:48 remaining, but Detroit pulled to 74-72 before Ewing hit two baskets in a 9-1 spurt that gave New York an 83-73 margin with 4:25 left.
A 3-pointer by Starks gave the Knicks their largest lead, 87-76, with 2:39 left, but Thomas hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to make it 87-82. The Knicks then scored the next six points to seal the outcome although Thomas hit another 3-pointer in the final seconds.
Wilkins, who scored just two points in Game 4, was booed by the Madison Square Garden fans in the first half, and made an obscene gesture toward the crowd in the third period before his hot streak.
"Gerald made some big plays when it looked like we were going the other way," Knicks coach Pat Riley said. "It made me feel good for him because he hasn't exactly been a fan favorite."
"This series was one of those fights you knew would go to the final round, and it did," Wilkins said.
Thomas said the Knicks, who outrebounded the Pistons 53-44 in the final game and 242-184 in five games, dominated the physical side of the series, where Detroit used to excel.
"We're not a physical team now," Thomas said. "At one time we were. But the Knicks were more physical than we were and their bodies were bigger than ours."
New York held the Pistons to 424 points in the series, an average of 84.8, which broke the previous NBA low for a 5-game playoff. Kansas City scored 431 in 1981 against Houston.
"The game went pretty much way the season went offensively," Pistons coach Chuck Daly said.
The Pistons shot 38.7 percent from the field in the final game and 41.9 percent for the series. The Knicks shot 40.2 percent in Game 5 and 41.4 for the series.
The game could have been the last as Detroit coach for Daly, who is widely expected to resign. General manager Jack McCloskey said Daly will make an announcement soon, but refused to elaborate.