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May 11--The Detroit Pistons still made the big shot even without their guy nicknamed "Big Shot," robbing the Orlando Magic of their big chance.
And now the Magic need a big finish against improbable odds after losing Game 4 on Saturday by one little point, 90-89.
Trailing the Pistons 3-1 in the best-of-seven series, they face elimination on Tuesday night at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
"We had our chance and let it slip away. For some reason, I feel we're still the better team," Magic forward Rashard Lewis said. "We just made too many mistakes at the end.
"It was our mistakes, nothing they did. They still got to beat us one more time."
Magic fan Tiger Woods' recovery from knee surgery wasn't the most significant injury dominating the talk at Amway Arena.
The Pistons were missing star point guard and captain Chauncey "Big Shot" Billups, whose sore hamstring kept him on the bench.
Advantage, Magic -- right?
Tayshaun Prince assumed Billups' fourth-quarter, go-to role, however, making an 11-foot floater over 6-foot-11 Dwight Howard to give the Pistons the 90-89 lead with 8.9 seconds left.
A 2-2 series tie, though, and a watershed Magic moment still were possible. The Magic handed the game over to their season-long closer, Hedo Turkoglu. But Turk missed a layup attempt and Howard couldn't retrieve a rebound as Billups merrily limped around in celebration.
"You can say it's my fault," said Turkoglu, who held the ball until taking off with about 4 seconds left. "I was reading the situation. Maybe I held on to it too much."
The Pistons have long showed that they know how to win at closing time; the Magic are learning painful lessons.
