EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS Better diet, better game for Detroit's Hamilton

The Pistons standout credits his personal chef with his improvement.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- Maybe it's the beet salad.
When Richard Hamilton reflects on his playoff success with the Detroit Pistons, he credits his teammates, coaches -- and his diet.
"I learned to treat my body as an investment," Hamilton said. "That's been one of the biggest things, eating right."
Hamilton's personal chef, Shawn Loving, has a restaurant in suburban Detroit and has cooked for high-profile entertainers, such as rap mogul Jay-Z. "When I see him run and run and play so well, it makes me feel good because I know what he's eating," Loving said. "On game days, Rip eats whole wheat pasta with a simplistic marinara along with grilled chicken or fresh fish that I have flown in that day.
"And, I always make him eat a salad. That's easy when I make beet salad because he loves it."
Hamilton scored a career playoff-high 33 points Sunday night to lead Detroit to an 83-65 victory over Indiana in the Eastern Conference finals. With the Game 5 victory, Detroit took a 3-2 series lead and moved a win away from advancing to the NBA Finals.
"That makes the game that much more exciting, makes you want it that much more," Hamilton said.
Game 6 is tonight.
Closing it out
The Pistons have won their last five playoff games when they had a chance to eliminate their opponent.
Hamilton has had a lot to do with that since being acquired from Washington for Jerry Stackhouse before the 2002-03 season.
His scoring average this postseason is 21.5 points, ranking among NBA leaders, one year after scoring 22.5 points a game in his first playoff run after three seasons in Washington.
Hamilton, who wears a plastic face mask to protect a nose that was broken twice this season, has scored at least 20 points in 27 of 34 playoff games. His career postseason scoring average of 22 points trails only Bob Lanier in team history.
"He scored in big games in college [leading Connecticut to the 1999 title] and he scored on us when I coached against him," Pistons coach Larry Brown said. "I didn't know if he was a complete player, but now being around him, he's becoming a complete player."
Hamilton has kept Reggie Miller in check during the series, for the most part, while consistently finding ways to score in a series dominated by defense.
While both teams are scoring about 75 points a game and making less than 40 percent of their shots, Hamilton is averaging 24.2 points against Indiana on 47.5 percent shooting.
"There are different things we can do, but the responsibility for a guy scoring 33 points is a team responsibility," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.
"It doesn't just fall on the guy who is guarding him. Our whole team has to react better because he's getting way too much."