Detroit knocked off New York 4-3 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, in something of a surprise outcome. New York came into this game being told by fans, the press, and Vegas that they had no business being on the same field with Detroit. They proved everybody wrong as Stoute led them to a tie at the end of regulation. In the end though, the talent and depth of Detroit was just too much and the favorites picked up the win in overtime, 102-100.

Henderson paced Detroit, who looked surprisingly vulnerable in this game. As the game went to overtime, Detroit own fans could be heard heckling them with chants of "Overrated". Apparantly that was enough to get the team fired up, and they were able to prevail. An exhausted coach David Smith had few positive comments after the game. "Man, they gave us all we could handle. I don't know where our focus was tonight. Fortunately we woke up in time."

Coach Bob was pleased with his team's effort, but disappointed by the results. "Obviously you want to pick up the win. We relish the role of being the underdog. We fought the good fight, but in the end they were just too much for us. This is just another step in our goal of becoming a powerhouse."

Detroit was led by Henderson (9 points, 21 boards, 3 assists, a steal, 4 blocks), Fox (27 points, 5 assists, a block), Graham (22 points, 2 steals, 4 blocks). New York was led by Stoute (13 points, 17 boards, 0 assists, 3 blocks), Speight (16 points, 6 assists, 2 steals), Crawford (13 points, 8 boards, 5 assists, 2 blocks).

box score Detroit* roster New York roster