Pistons bounce Bulls in Game 6

Detroit awaits the Cleveland-New Jersey series winner.

CHICAGO (AP) — The Detroit Pistons can breathe a little easier. There won’t be a Game 7, after all.

Richard Hamilton scored 23 points and the Pistons beat the Chicago Bulls 95-85 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Thursday night, clinching a series that turned tense after Detroit won the first three games.

No NBA team has lost a best-of-seven series after taking a 3-0 lead, and the Pistons rejected the Bulls’ shot at history. Now, Detroit can focus on its fifth straight conference final.

Down 48-43 at halftime, the Pistons outscored the Bulls 31-21 in the third quarter to take a 74-69 lead, and Chicago could not sustain any momentum in the fourth.

Rasheed Wallace had 16 points and 13 rebounds for Detroit, while Tayshaun Prince added 17 points and nine rebounds. Chauncey Billups was just 3-for-12 from the field but he scored 11 of his 21 points in the third quarter.

Key technical

A jumper by Wallace, who had received a technical foul just more than a minute earlier, and hook shot by Prince made it 85-73 with 2:20 left, and Detroit hung on from there.

“We were moving the ball,” Wallace said of the difference in Detroit’s offense in the second half. “In the first half we were stagnant and didn’t move the ball. That’s what we talked about at halftime.”

Chicago’s P.J. Brown attempted just three shots in the second half after scoring all of his 20 points in the first two quarters, eclipsing his previous playoff career-high of 19. Luol Deng added 17 points, but the Bulls were off target after shooting 57.3 percent in Game 5.

This time, they were 28-of-75 (37.3 percent), with Ben Gordon (19 points) going 7-for-18 and Kirk Hinrich (11 points) 3-of-13.

Wallace said the Pistons didn’t do anything special against Brown in the second half.

“He was getting the same shots. We were still contesting, he just didn’t hit them,” Wallace said. “He was on fire in the first half.”

Seeking history no more

The Bulls were trying to become the fourth NBA team to force a Game 7 after falling behind 3-0, and keep alive their hopes of joining another exclusive club. Only the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, 1975 New York Islanders and 2004 Boston Red Sox have rallied from 3-0 deficits to win a best-of-seven series.

The Pistons put the Bulls in that hole by blowing them out in Games 1 and 2 at home and rallying from 19 down to take Game 3 at the United Center, but instead of a second straight sweep, Detroit got a fight.

Wallace hit a 3-pointer 30 seconds into the second half to start a 12-1 run that put Detroit ahead 55-49.