Pistons lose against rested Nets in overtime thriller

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Twelve hours after one of the franchise's biggest victories, the Detroit Pistons were back on the practice court Saturday, defying the skeptics again.\nWith barely any time to celebrate, or even sleep, following Friday night's series-clinching overtime victory at Philadelphia, the Pistons had no trouble getting motivated for the New Jersey Nets. The Nets won the matchup 96-94 in overtime Sunday. \n"There were some things that were said that kind of made it personal," guard Chucky Atkins said. "There were some comments made about us from Richard Jefferson, something about us being overrated. Nobody has given us a chance all year."\nJefferson took that swipe at the Pistons during the regular season, but the recycled bulletin-board material still serves the purpose for a group of players not used to getting this far. Detroit is in the conference finals for the first time since 1991, a year after its last NBA title.\nThe Pistons got home at 2 a.m. Saturday and were on the floor at 2 p.m. Guard Richard Hamilton, excited over the team's success in his first postseason experience, said he liked the quick turnaround because it keeps his nerves from taking over.\n"You don't get a chance to dwell on it," Hamilton said. "To me, it still hasn't set in. Everybody calls me and says 'Man, can you believe you're in the finals?' And I'm like, 'Hey, it's more games you can play.'"\nThe Nets, meanwhile, have practically twiddled their thumbs all week waiting for this series to start. They finished a four-game sweep of Boston on Monday, seemingly creating a natural advantage for a team that loves to run.\n"They haven't had much rest," Nets forward Kenyon Martin said. "So we want to go up there and play our game. We want to go out there and impose our will on them. They want to play in the halfcourt. We want to run. We'll see who gets the best of it."\nThe Pistons countered by saying that their team is deep, with Ben Wallace the only player to consistently log heavy minutes. Point guard Chauncey Billups, who has to chase Jason Kidd all over the court, should also be fresh after sitting out three games in the Philadelphia series with a sprained ankle.\n"It's a great matchup, I feel like he is the best point guard in the league," Billups said. "It's a great challenge for me because he's Mr. Everything for them."\nThe other interesting matchup is Martin vs. Wallace, two inside forces with similar styles. Wallace is the league's two-time defensive player of the year, but Martin did a great job against Boston's Antoine Walker, and he isn't about to back down from this challenge.\n"You just have to take it right at him," Martin said of Wallace. "I think teams try to avoid him too much. If you avoid him, he's won."\nEven with the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers eliminated from the West, the Nets and Pistons have much work to do before they can prove that this series is anything but the JV championship. Detroit and New Jersey went a combined 2-10 against San Antonio, Dallas and Sacramento this season, and the Eastern Conference champion is 5-16 in the NBA Finals since Michael Jordan left Chicago in 1998.\n"OK, we'll be the JV series," Nets guard Lucious Harris said. "But it's going to come down to two teams in the finals, and I don't mind being the underdog."\nAs for Jefferson, he decided not to be inflammatory Saturday and settled for sarcasm instead. He was asked about the Nets' recent poor road record against the Pistons -- Detroit has won 15 of the last 17 at the Palace.\n"I could barely sleep last night thinking about it," Jefferson said. "When I saw that stat, it was just amazing. I had to have a little warm milk and got to sleep around 4 o'clock"