Wow! What a game this one turned out to be.

I thought it was over a few times, particularly midway through the third quarter when they fell down by 15, but the Sixers who showed up late in the third and the fourth quarter were the team that won 21-of 28 games to get in the playoffs, not the one that finished out the season.

There were some nerves evident early, but they settled down, and Reggie Evans was terrific in the second half and took away Jason Maxiell, who was one of Detroit’s best weapons early with his offensive rebounding.

Before the game, the Pistons’ locker room was calm and nearly deserted. While the Sixers had game film running on their TV, the Pistons were watching the Lakers and Nuggets.

Were they overconfident? Perhaps.

There’s an old saying about it not being a series until one team wins on the road, so I guess it’s now a series.