NBA FINALS Pistons on verge of crown

Detroit has achieved three decisive victories over the heavily-favored Lakers.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- With one more win, the Detroit Pistons will be impossible to ignore any longer.
They'll be NBA champions, and even the Los Angeles Lakers will be forced to quit thinking about themselves long enough to appreciate one of the most amazing finals performances in league history.
"We don't care about respect from them, respect from the media, respect from the world," Detroit forward Rasheed Wallace said Monday. "We only care about the dogs in our room and the fans in this building. The rest of y'all can have each other."
Though the Pistons have beaten the Lakers in almost every aspect of every minute of every game while taking a 3-1 lead, this series has been all about L.A. About the infighting, the strategic blunders, the Malone-and-Payton sob stories, the colorful derailment of a burgeoning dynasty.
Detroit has stuck to the workaday, blue-collar image. Except for an occasional ankle-breaking crossover dribble by Chauncey Billups, there's been nothing spectacular about the Pistons' game. But it has produced three decisive victories over the heavily favored Lakers.
Prediction
"I sense this team, and what they bring, would be a testimonial of how special our league is, because I think this team tries to play the right way and respects the game and respects one another," said Pistons coach Larry Brown, who's close to his first title after 21 seasons with seven NBA teams.
After seizing control of the series with consecutive home victories, the Pistons can clinch the third title in franchise history with a win in Game 5 tonight.
To do it, the Pistons must become the first team to win all three home games in the middle of a 2-3-2 series since the NBA moved to the format in 1985. But the Lakers' task is even more daunting: No team has ever recovered from a 3-1 deficit to win the finals.
"We have every intention of winning the game," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "We don't care what the records are about teams that are in this situation in the past. We believe that we can turn this thing around."
Jackson's situation
But Jackson, in search of his record 10th championship, is one game away from an off-season of tough questions that might even call his inimitable skills into question.
For starters, how could Jackson get so soundly out-coached by Brown, who's been a step ahead for four games? The Pistons haven't altered their Game 1 strategy of one-on-one coverage on Shaquille O'Neal, followed by countless pick-and-roll plays to set up countless open jumpers for Billups and Richard Hamilton.
How could the Lakers consistently fail to get the ball to O'Neal in the low post until Game 4, when he had 36 points and 20 rebounds? And how could Jackson, whose motivational skills are described with religious fervor by his former players, fail to get Kobe Bryant's attention?
And how could the championship-tested Lakers fail to match the Pistons' desire?
"I don't think we've really showed how much we want it," said veteran forward Rick Fox, who has campaigned for more playing time. "This means a lot to the guys in here. You know how much it means to Gary and Karl, because they don't have a championship. We've got one game to show how serious we are."