Bickerstaff's fiery speech provides 'spark' in Pistons' Game 2 win over Magic - ESPN

DETROIT — With Wednesday's game tied at the half and the Orlando Magic hanging around, Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff lit into his team to try to ignite the Pistons.

«He really got on us in the locker room,» Pistons forward Tobias Harris said. "[His message was] there is no more of 'my bads.' It's like they're out there hustling, getting offensive boards on us. And there's too many of them for us [to allow] as a group. We know that's not our standard.

«So he was on us. We were able to find that little spark.»

After hearing it from their coach, the Pistons delivered an emphatic reminder that they are the East's best team. Detroit hit Orlando with a 30-3 third-quarter avalanche to win 98-83 in Game 2 and even the first-round series at 1-1.

The Pistons' sellout crowd — which included some of the franchise's biggest legends, such as Isiah Thomas — savored the team's first home playoff win since May, 26, 2008, when the Pistons beat the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals. The Pistons' 11-game playoff losing streak at home was the longest in NBA history.

Detroit set an early tone that this game would be different than Game 1 when Orlando led from start to finish. The Pistons swatted seven shots in the first quarter alone and finished with 11 blocks Wednesday. There were several blocks at the rim as both teams went at each other.

«It's Piston's basketball, and that's what it looks like,» Bickerstaff said. «We have one off night [in Game 1 that happened] to come at a bad time. But I know what our guys are, and we trusted that they were going to come back tonight, be the best version of themselves at some point.»

That version emerged in the third quarter. Detroit was everywhere, turning up the defense and