PHILADELPHIA FUNK

Fictional Philadelphia underdog Rocky wasn’t the long shot the 76ers were against the Pistons, but it’s now the Pistons staggered and wobbling and merely hoping to take this fight the distance so they regain their footing. They now trail the best-of-seven first-round series against the No. 7 seed and need to win three of the next four games to survive. With only Tayshaun Prince and Rip Hamilton playing characteristically – they combined for 41 points, 39 of the team’s 55 through three quarters - the Pistons stayed close despite a sputtering first half but collapsed completely in the third quarter when they went without a basket for the final 10:41. Before the third quarter was out, the Pistons had turned the ball over more than they had in any regular-season game, finishing with a ghastly 25. They missed 17 straight shots spanning the third and fourth quarters. The bench got soundly outplayed. Rasheed Wallace, Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess combined to go 4 of 19. What else could have gone wrong? Well, Wallace picked up his second technical of the postseason and McDyess broke his nose. Other than that, the Pistons had a terrific night.

FLIP SAUNDERS: “They put a lot of pressure on us and we turned the ball over. When our strength as a team is to take care of the basketball and lead the league in the fewest turnovers and you turn over the ball 25 times and give up 28 points (off turnovers) and they take one of your strengths and make it your weakness, you are going to struggle. Their pressure hurt us tonight. There’s no question.”

First – Philly broke out to a 6-0 lead with the Pistons getting beat on the offensive glass and bumbling on offense. Rasheed Wallace, the focal point of the offense in games 1 and 2, got few touches and took his first shot with less than five minutes left, drawing a foul from Samuel Dalembert. Rip Hamilton hit three straight baskets after that to tie the game at 16. Theo Ratliff, after not playing in Game 2, came on for Wallace late. Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince scored eight apiece, combining to shoot 8 of 9. The Pistons shot 71 percent, but gave up five offensive boards and turned it over six times. Score: PISTONS 20, Philadelphia 20.

Second – Ratliff contributed two dunks and a blocked shot in the first 90 seconds to give the Pistons their first lead and then checked out. Lindsey Hunter, who also didn’t play in Game 2, came on for Prince as the Pistons went to a three-guard lineup when Philly used Rodney Carney at small forward. Jarvis Hayes was bypassed. The Pistons turned it over four straight times midway through the quarter and fell behind 35-30 as Reggie Evans made plays at both ends. The Pistons, who averaged 11.7 turnovers per game, picked up their 12th four minutes before halftime. The Pistons missed their first five free throws before Chauncey Billups earned a split with two minutes left. The four-point deficit could have been much worse. Score: Philadelphia 44, PISTONS 40.

Third – Prince and Hamilton hit consecutive triples – the Pistons’ first two of the game – early to cut the deficit to two. But consecutive turnovers (14 and 15) fueled a 10-0 Philly run and the night’s biggest deficit at 56-46. Both Antonio McDyess and Thaddeus Young had to leave the game with bloody noses, McDyess’ broken. A Billups air ball on an open 18-footer left him at 1 of 8. Stuckey replaced him seconds later. Hamilton picked up his fourth foul with 5:01 left. Wallace and Reggie Evans were given simultaneous technicals with 4:43 to go for barking at each other. When Stuckey dribbled off his leg with 3:32 left in the half, the 19th turnover was one more than the regular-season high. Score: Philadelphia 70, PISTONS 55.

Fourth - Rodney Carney’s 3 on the first possession stretched the lead to 18. The Pistons kept misfiring, Billups barely grazing the rim on a wide-open jumper. The consecutive streak of misses reached 17 before Billups got a goaltending call against Samuel Dalembert. The Pistons, scrambling, put Philly in the bonus less than three minutes into the quarter. There was never a hint that the Pistons had a comeback in them. Saunders yanked his starters with six minutes to go. Score: Philadelphia 95, PISTONS 75

The story of the game in Pistons red, white and blue

– Rip Hamilton made 7 of his first 8 shots and Tayshaun Prince 8 of his first 9. On almost any other night, two players having that kind of game would translate into an easy Pistons win. But with everybody else shooting himself in the foot – they finished 17 of 27, everybody else 10 of 39 with a combined five baskets through three quarters – it wasn’t nearly enough to make the game so much as competitive. Hamilton finished with 23 points and Prince with 18, but even their nights come with an asterisk. Prince had five turnovers and Hamilton four.

PRINCE: “This team is similar to Chicago last year as far as we have to contain their guards and we have to keep their bigs off the boards. That’s a priority, but they are beating us to the punch. We need to set the tone.”

Blue Collar – Reggie Evans might be one of the least-skilled players in the NBA, which explains why he went undrafted out of Iowa. But Evans’ toughness and hustle has driven Philadelphia to believe it can beat the Pistons, not just make it respectable. Evans gave Philly nine pints, five boards and two steals and battled against Wallace, at one point stripping him of the ball, dribbling the other way and barreling through Hunter – who thought he drew the charge – and then made his first free throw.

EVANS: “We’ve got a team. We’ve got a unity. We come together out of unity. We have a team together. We don’t have individuals. … We’re at home (on Sunday). We’re going to feed off this incredible crowd. We’re going to take full advantage of this before we go back to the Motor City.”

Red Flag – Where to start? Wallace, McDyess, the bench – all very troublesome. But the biggest mystery of the night was Billups, who finished 2 of 11 and didn’t just miss but missed very badly on most attempts. Billups always says he and his team’s offense are at their best when he plays aggressively, but he was extremely passive aside from one assertive drive that produced a late first-quarter layup. Other than the fourth-quarter goaltend, that was his only basket of the game. He also chipped in three turnovers against just four assists.

Pivotal plays, frozen moments and lasting images from a deeply troubling loss

STORY OF THE NIGHT – During a long third-quarter dry spell with the Pistons desperately trying to keep Philly within arm’s length, Jason Maxiell caused a Philadelphia turnover that led to a fast break. Hamilton left his feet at the foul line to shoot, then spotted Prince cutting to the basket on his left. But his pass was deflected, leading to a Philadelphia fast break that took the lead back to 10. It was Detroit’s 17th turnover. And that play involved the only two Pistons who had anything going offensively all night.

BRUTAL START – The Pistons hoped to take the raucous Philly home crowd out of it early by executing on offense, so the game couldn’t have started worse – or more symbolically, as it turned out. The first three possessions went turnover, air ball, turnover, forcing Saunders to take a timeout barely two minutes into the game with Philly ahead 6-0. After a Prince basket, he threw the ball away on the next possession for a third turnover in five trips.

STILL STRUGGLING – Imagine the problems the Pistons might have if Andre Igoudala ever starts to play. Igoudala, who averaged 10 points in the first two games and shot 5 of 24, again had a lousy night offensively. Igoudala shot just 2 of 9 and finished right at his average of 10. But just like every Pistons positive had an asterisk, so does this Philly negative. Igoudala did contribute six assists and four rebounds.

A little perspective on a night that blurs perspective

The Pistons have been in deeper holes and make more remarkable recoveries from one game to the next than a win in Game 4 will require. But it was hard to shake the notion that when they turn out the lights and hit the sheets, even the Pistons are going to wonder how a game like Friday’s happened. They had every reason to believe that a strong, assertive start after a dominant Game 2 win would knock the wind out of the 76ers. Now they know they’re going to get a loose and confident Philly team in Game 4 on Sunday playing before a home crowd that’s suddenly embracing a pretty likeable bunch. And the Pistons might have to do it without McDyess, whose status for Game 4 is uncertain.

NUMBERS CRUNCH

The number of consecutive missed field-goal attempts that started after Rip Hamilton’s 3-point basket with 10:41 left in the third quarter drew the Pistons to within two points of Philadelphia, 48-46. The Pistons shot 61 percent in the first half – mostly because Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince made 14 of 17 between them – but finished at 41 percent when they went a dismal 8 for 35 in the second half.