Tayshaun Prince's left-handed hook shot in the lane with 6.9 seconds remaining in the contest proved to be the game-winner, as the Detroit Pistons escaped Amway Arena with a 90-89 win and a 3-1 Eastern Conference semifinals series advantage against the Orlando Magic.
After Prince's go-ahead bucket, the Magic put the ball in the red-hot Hedo Turkoglu's hands. Turkoglu, who netted 13 points in the fourth quarter, started at the top of the key and took Prince off the dribble and into the lane. Jason Maxiell stepped up and fronted the forward before the two collided and the shot attempt fell off the mark without a whistle.
The Pistons can wrap up the series in Game 5, which is scheduled for Tuesday at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Prince finished with 17 points, five rebounds and five assists for the victors.
Richard Hamilton exploded for a game-high 32 points -- 10 in the final period -- and Rasheed Wallace tallied 16 points and eight rebounds for Detroit, who are one win away from becoming the first team since the 1984-89 Los Angeles Lakers to reach six straight conference finals.
Turkoglu recorded 20 points, while Rashard Lewis, Jameer Nelson and Maurice Evans each netted 15 points for Orlando, which hit just 11-of-17 from the free throw line.
Dwight Howard grabbed 12 rebounds but was almost absent offensively. The recently named All-NBA First Team center did not sink a field goal after the 7:03 mark of the first quarter, finishing with a meager eight points on 3- of-12 shooting from the field.
"I missed a lot of shots," Howard said. "Just had a little frustration tonight. There wasn't a thing I could do about it. Just come back next game and give a better effort."
The Pistons played without starting point guard Chauncey Billups, whose strained right hamstring -- suffered in the first quarter of Game 3 -- kept him out of the contest. Rookie Rodney Stuckey and Lindsey Hunter filled in admirably for the hobbled leader.
Deadlocked at 70-70 after three quarters of play, the teams remained within striking distance of one another as Turkoglu and Hamilton traded baskets for much of the fourth.
Turkoglu's uncontested layup with just over a minute left gave the Magic a two-point lead, but Keyon Dooling lost his cool on the next possession, giving a forearm shove to Hamilton and being charged with a technical and personal foul.
Hamilton missed the technical foul shot -- the Pistons' only miss at the stripe in 15 attempts -- but made the final two to tie the game. Nelson then drove the lane, got fouled and made 1-of-2 from the line for a one-point Magic lead.
Wallace came down and missed a jumper from the foul line, but Antonio McDyess, who pulled down a game-high 14 boards, skied over two Magic defenders for the offensive rebound, leading the way for Prince's mini-hook winner seconds later.
"Everybody chipped in," Prince said. "'Dyess got a huge offensive rebound late in the game. We swung the ball on that last play and got a pick-and-roll and I was able to get a floater over Dwight Howard."
The Pistons hit 8-of-20 in the opening stanza and trailed 27-21 after one period.
With under two minutes to go in the second, Lewis drilled a three to highlight seven quick Magic points, helping the home team push ahead 55-44 at the break.
Lewis and Evans each drilled a three-ball early in the third, swelling the Orlando lead to 15. The veteran Pistons had an answer, however, holding the Magic scoreless for the next 6 1/2 minutes.
The Pistons' subsequent 15-0 run tied things up at 63, and the clubs headed to the deciding quarter knotted, 70-70.
"We just played 'D'," Wallace said. "That is what we do. It was a physical game on both sides of the ball. That is our style. We like being physical. We just wish we could do that more often. That [defense] is something that we hang our hats on, from the first man to the 12th man."
Game Notes
