| Glorious Portland Return For Rasheed Authored by Christopher Reina - March 2, 2005 - 2:07 am
Returning to an arena where you once played your home games gives you a little something extra each time you do so. Returning to an arena for the first time is something you circle on your calendar months in advance and keeps you up late the night before.
There is little doubt that Rasheed Wallace had trouble sleeping on Monday night and will fall asleep with a smile on Tuesday after his Pistons defeated the TrailBlazers by a final score of 103-93. The victory was Detroit’s 8th in a row.
Wallace had an extra bounce in his step, but didn’t strain to do too much, scoring just 12 points on 5-10 shooting. He also grabbed 10 rebounds in just 33 minutes.
The Pistons had six players score in double-figures, their usual starting five and Antonio McDyess.
Wallace’s power forward replacement, Zach Randolph had 17 points and 5 rebounds for the Blazers, who have now lost seven of their last nine.
The Pistons improved their record to 35-19. With Cleveland reeling on a 3 game losing streak, the Central Division appears to be a virtual lock for the Pistons and they can now set their sights on the Miami Heat for home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Heat have won 8 out of their last 10, but the Pistons could overcome their 5 game deficit if they ride the momentum of this West Coast swing.
Last year’s Pistons proved themselves to be a team capable of winning on the road in the playoffs, but their path to the Finals would be that much easier if the Heat had to play four out of seven at the Palace in late May and early June.
|
