Key Reason—Rasheed Wallace pulled out!
In the first half, he made 3 out of 4 shots, including one three-pointer, scored 7 points, grabbed 3 rebounds, had 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block, looking even better than Duncan or Garnett. But in the second half, he missed a three-pointer and a mid-range shot, could not grab any rebounds, and failed to keep up defensively.
Although Rasheed Wallace was not the tactical core, his role in tactics was irreplaceable. He could protect the rim like Duncan and shoot mid-range and pass like Garnett, although not as well, but his impact was very critical. Larry Brown leading the Pistons to the championship in the 03-04 season was directly related to acquiring Rasheed Wallace, whom other teams had discarded for free.
In the second half, only 3 players scored for the Pistons: Webber with 4 points, Hamilton with 4 points, and Billups, who drew a three-point foul and went to the free-throw line, scoring 11 points with three successful free throws.
