By Paul Levine May 4, 2006, 17:24 GMT
Los Angeles - Richard 'Rip' Hamilton came alive and sent the Milwaukee Bucks to rest in peace.
Detroit Pistons Richard Hamilton shoots between Milwaukee Bucks Andrew Bogut (L) and Charlie Bell in the forth quarter during game five of their first round Eastern Conference playoff match at The Palace Auburn Hills, Michigan on Wednesday 03 May 2006. The Pistons beat the Bucks 122-93 to win their best of seven series four games to one to advance to the Eastern Conference semi-finals. Hamilton was the high scorer for the Pistons with 40 points. EPA/JEFF KOWALSKY
Hamilton erupted for a playoff career-high 40 points as the Detroit Pistons blew out the Bucks, 122-93 on Wednesday night to wrap up the opening round of their Eastern Conference best-of-seven playoff series in five games.
'We wanted to come out here and take care of business at home,' Hamilton said. 'We knew they were going to come out and play us tough because they played us tough all series. I think we really took care of business tonight.'
The Pistons await the winner of the Cleveland Cavaliers-Washington Wizards series in the conference semifinals. The Cavaliers grabbed a 3-2 series' edge on a dramatic game-winning lay-up by LeBron James in overtime for a 121-120 victory.
'It doesn't really matter who we play,' Hamilton said. 'Let them beat each other up. We just have to be prepared to play whomever.'
Rasheed Wallace had 22 points, Chauncey Billups, 17 and Ben Wallace grabbed 14 rebounds for Detroit, which shot a sizzling 54 per cent from the floor and dominated the boards 48-29.
'Rip was great,' Billups said. 'It's been a long time coming and we needed him to come through like that. He got it cooking early and once he did everybody else kind of fell back and got him the ball where he needed it. I told him 'welcome back.''
Hampered by a left ankle injury suffered in Game 1, Hamilton was given a looser tape job by Pistons trainer Arnie Kander. It made a big difference because it allowed the speedy All-Star guard to again move around freely and get loose for open shots.
'Arnie told me he wasn't going to tape me as tight because he didn't want to have me restrained,' Hamilton said. 'He wanted me to just play and not worry about it. That gave me a whole lot of confidence to make plays, make moves and do stuff that I was usually doing.'
Hamilton scored early and often. He had 15 first-quarter points to give the Pistons a 39-23 advantage, and added nine more in the second frame, sparking the Eastern Conference champions to a 62-49 halftime cushion.
The Pistons broke open the game after intermission behind Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace and a stingy defense.
Ahead, 64-51 in the early minutes of the third quarter, Wallace scored 11 consecutive points, including three consecutive 3-pointers to ignite a 16-0 run that opened an 80-51 lead with 5:04 left.
Hamilton had 16 in the period, including the final dozen, as the Pistons held a commanding a 97-66 heading into the final 12 minutes.
'In the third quarter, it wasn't really me that was scoring, it was Rasheed,' Hamilton said. 'I've always said Sheed gets going, it gets us all going, because he brings an inside presence and an outside presence.'
Michael Redd, who led the Bucks with 23 points, admitted they weren't prepared to challenge.
'In these situations, you have to have a sense of urgency, you have to play like a madman against this great team,' he said. 'We didn't do that tonight and they made us pay for that. Tonight Rip hurt us, he started off fast. It was just a great performance by the whole team.'
Elsewhere:
Cleveland Cavaliers 121, Washington Wizards 120 (OT): LeBron James exploded for a playoff career-high 45 points, including a driving lay-up with nine-tenths of a second left in overtime, lifting the Cavaliers to a thrilling victory over the Wizards and a 3-2 lead in the opening round of their Eastern Conference playoff series.
Gilbert Arenas, who finished with 44 points, made two free throws to put the Wizards ahead by one with 3.6 seconds remaining. After a timeout, James took an inbound pass in the left corner and drove the baseline before muscling in a soft lay-up over Antawn Jamison, Michael Ruffin and Arenas that sent the more than 20,000 hometown fans into a frenzy.
'I didn't want to just fire up a jumper with 3.3 seconds left,' said James after hitting his second game-winning basket in the series. 'I seen Antawn closing out hard, so I just tight-roped the baseline and was able to get to the rim for the lay-up.'
Larry Hughes scored 24 points and Eric Snow added 18 for Cleveland, which regrouped after blowing a seven-point lead with 78 seconds left in regulation.
Jamison had 31 points while Caron Butler finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds for Washington, which hosts Game Six Friday night in an effort to avoid elimination.
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