Detroit's Rasheed Wallace sticks by his guarantee

Indiana is ahead 1-0 and will be at home for tonight's Game 2.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Jermaine O'Neal didn't have to go back far to remember the last time an opponent guaranteed a victory over his Indiana Pacers.
Rafer Alston, Dwyane Wade and Malik Allen guaranteed the Miami Heat would win Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals last week.
"That didn't work out too well for them," O'Neal said.
The Pacers responded by snapping Miami's 18-game home winning streak and eliminating the Heat with a 73-70 victory.
Just five days later, the Pacers find themselves responding to similar questions after Detroit's Rasheed Wallace guaranteed a victory in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals tonight.
Wallace made the comment after struggling in a 78-74 series-opening loss Saturday, and didn't back away from it a day later.
"That's all I'm saying, people. We will win Game 2," Wallace announced, repeating the second sentence several times as he was set upon by a media mob upon his entrance to practice.
Poor effort
For that to happen, the Pistons will need a much better performance from Wallace. He scored just four points on 1-for-7 shooting, was in foul trouble for most of the game and shot an airball on a potential tying 3-pointer in the closing seconds.
He addressed none of that in a typically uncooperative media session Sunday, answering most questions with, "We will win Game 2."
O'Neal, who counts Wallace as one of his closest friends dating to their days together in Portland, said he thought Wallace was trying to motivate himself and his teammates for an important game.
The Pacers were cautious in responding to the remarks, but it was clear the story had made it on to Indiana's bulletin board.
"Sometimes you have to go out on a limb and guarantee things, but sometimes it goes in a negative way for you because it ignites our team," O'Neal said. "It's going to really make us want to play that much harder and make those guys look bad at the same time."
Less concern
Wallace's teammates seemed less concerned with his bold prediction than their offensive breakdowns. The Pistons shot just 33 percent in the fourth quarter and missed 11 of their final 12 shots in letting a one-point lead slip away.
Pistons coach Larry Brown wouldn't comment on Wallace's guarantee, instead saying it is imperative that he is involved on offense early and often in Game 2. Wallace touched the ball just once in the first 13 minutes and picked up a couple of questionable foul calls to start his rough night.
"Knowing him, he feels responsible for the game last night," Brown said. "But again, the guy's in foul trouble right off the bat in almost every game. And it's kind of hard to play that way when the guy you're playing against never gets a foul."
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