Healing begins for Pistons

The Pistons were close to making it 2-0, but now must stop LA's momentum.
By JERRY BREWER
THE ORLANDO SENTINEL
LOS ANGELES -- Larry Brown grew tired of rationalizing a miracle or, for him, bad luck.
"Give them their due," Brown said of the Los Angeles Lakers, who beat his Detroit Pistons 99-91 in Game 2 of the NBA Finals after an improbable comeback.
Now it was time to be condescending
"Are you allowed to give people their due in this thing?" Brown asked. "Are you allowed to tell a team that they won a game?"
So the healing began. Kobe Bryant saved the Lakers' season with a game-tying 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds remaining Tuesday night. Now the Pistons, who were so close to a 2-0 lead, must stop the Lakers' momentum.
Game 3 Thursday
The series moves to Auburn Hills, Mich., on Thursday night for Game 3, the first of three straight games at the Palace. While the Lakers are concerned about Karl Malone's injured knee, the Pistons have to wonder about their damaged psyche.
"How do you think we're going to respond?" Detroit forward Rasheed Wallace asked. "Do you think we're just going to lay down?"
Detroit had plenty of smart-aleck responses, but the Pistons offered no real answers. It could just be their self-confidence and edge showing, however.
Game 3 might turn out to be the most important of this series. If the Pistons win, the significance of Bryant's shot decreases, and Detroit becomes steady again. If the Lakers win, they could be on their way to ending this series.
"Obviously, it's devastating for a situation like this to happen," Detroit forward Tayshaun Prince said.
Happened before
But it's nothing new to Detroit. The Pistons lost a triple-overtime Game 5 to New Jersey in the Eastern Conference semifinals. They headed to New Jersey trailing 3-2 and looking like a mentally drained team. But Detroit won on the road and blew out the Nets at home in Game 7. This team has shown it can recover.
It figures to be more difficult this time. Over the past five years, the Lakers have been good at seizing moments. Dramatic Lakers shots have meant trouble for the opponent. Derek Fisher's shot against San Antonio wouldn't have been as memorable if L.A. hadn't closed out that series. Robert Horry's buzzer-beater against Sacramento two years ago wouldn't still reverberate if L.A. had succumbed to the Kings.
Asked if his shot could be the defining moment of the Finals, Bryant said, "Maybe. It seemed to be that way every series that we've had so far."
Malone reinjures knee
But the Lakers have some problems. The biggest is Malone's health. Malone re-injured his right knee Tuesday night. The Lakers are calling it a strained medial collateral ligament, the same ligament with a tear in it that caused Malone to miss almost half of the regular season. Malone will decide just before tonight's game whether he can go.
Malone said he would play tonight, but he also said he felt no pain during Tuesday's game, even though he had a noticeable limp.
George hurts knee
Beside Malone, starting small forward Devean George tweaked his knee, which could mean more minutes for Luke Walton. Walton had an impact off the bench with seven points and eight assists in Game 2. If he plays more, the Pistons probably will attack him and test his defense.