SAN ANTONIO, Texas, June 12 -- Detroit may be the Motor City, but its San Antonio that's put the Pistons in the rearview mirror in these first two games.

The Spurs got off to an 11-2 run and never looked back Sunday night as they cruised to a 97-76 victory. Detroit cut a 16-point Spurs lead after three periods to single-digits with 7:14 remaining in the fourth quarter, but a 16-3 San Antonio run put the game away for good.

"They have been tough to beat at home all year," Pistons coach Larry Brown said. "I don't think we've won a game here in about seven, eight years. So I'm hopeful we'll be tough and our crowd will be as enthusiastic as them and maybe get some confidence back."

Up 2-0, the Spurs are pointed in the right direction. Brian Bahr/Getty Images/NBAE

Since the NBA adopted the 2-3-2 Finals format in 1985, no team with homecourt advantage has ever squandered a 2-0 lead. Only two teams ever have come back from such a deficit to win a Finals series -- the 1969 Celtics and the 1977 Trail Blazers. The series now heads to Detroit, where Games 3 through 5 will be played the Palace of Auburn Hills.

That is, if there is a Game 5.

"It's a challenge but I think you have to really focus on the fact that you have to be more cautious there," said Spurs forward Bruce Bowen about Motown. "You don't have your fans to give you that energy, if you get down a bit."

Game 2 featured a strong perimeter effort in which the normally defensive-minded Bowen converted four wide-open three-pointers and the Spurs' starting backcourt of Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker shot a collective 12-of-17 from the field. San Antonio's ball movement was outstanding. Second and third passes led to drives, free throw attempts and open jump shots.

The Spurs consequently had a field day from beyond the arc, converting 11-of-24 three-pointers while Detroit failed to make a trey in six attempts.

"I think most of those things occur when you get beat on the dribble penetration," said Brown. "Somebody is going to be open and they seem to make the extra pass over and over again. That was beautiful to watch, in terms of their execution."

It was also a beautiful thing for Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to watch. In The Finals in 2003, he saw his team take Game 1 only to lose to the Nets in Game 2 of the series. Popovich worried San Antonio's convincing 84-69 victory Thursday night would cause it to lose its edge.

"I was really pleased the way they reacted to the win," he said. "I think it's easier to react well after a loss, and I think good teams do that. Even teams that aren't good will always come back with a little more energy after a loss, but it gets more difficult after a win to come back and understand how that subconscious sort of complacency can set in.

"You have to keep an appropriate fear of your so opponent so that complacency will dissipate as soon as possible."

If the Pistons are to mount a successful comeback, they'll have to win four out of five contests. The last time the Spurs experienced four losses in a short span was during a stretch from Nov. 28 to Dec. 3 of 2003 when they lost five in a row. They followed that losing streak with 13 wins in a row.

"We bet that Game 3 is going to be so tough with their crowd on their side," Ginobili said. "They are going to be very pumped up for them and they are going to play even tougher defensively. We just have to be aware of that, knowing it's going to happen. Winning in their arena is very hard. "We've just got to be patient and try to get to the last quarter tied, two points down or two points up and put the pressure on them."