Corliss and Co. bull-rushed the Lakers in Thursday's gallery.
Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images/NBAE

X-Factor: Daunting Defense
Some thought Detroit's suffocating defense simply thrived in the offensively challenged East, but the Pistons opened everyone's eyes by holding Kobe Bryant to one point in the first half and Shaquille O'Neal to two points after the break in Thursday's
88-68 Game 3 win. Detroit outrebounded the Lakers 51-39 and snagged 11 steals to Los Angeles' seven. Overall, the Pistons held the Lakers to their lowest playoff point output since the inception of the shot clock, a total of 561 games.

June Archive
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June 10, 2004


VIRTUAL GM TOP EFFICIENCY
Rip Hamilton, Det.
VGM value: 14.3
Thurs.: Rip recorded a plus-28 efficiency rating with 31 points and six boards in an 88-68 Game 3 victory in The Finals.

TIME TO TUNE IN
Sunday on ABC
Lakers at Pistons, 8:30 p.m. ET

SPEAK IT, MAN
"People thought we would be flat, but we were even more hungry."
-- Detroit's Chauncey Billups, on bouncing back from a dramatic Game 2 loss.

WHAT IS EFFICIENCY RATING?
Here is the formula:
((Pts + Reb + Ast + Stl + Blk) minus
((FGA - FGM) + (FTA - FTM) + TO))