AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP)—The Detroit Pistons know they might be facing the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the playoffs.

That’s one of the reasons they were so unhappy with the way they played Wednesday night.

The Pistons got off to a lackadaisical start, falling behind by double digits in the first 10 minutes, and couldn’t dig themselves out, losing 83-82.

“We were terrible,” Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. “The score isn’t reflective of the way we played—we shouldn’t have only lost this game by one point.”

The Sixers didn’t score in the final 2:27, missing their final five shots, but won when Chauncey Billups’ jumper over Rodney Carney bounced off the rim as time expired.

“It’s a big win,” said Andre Igoudala, who led all scorers with 22 points. “It’s on the road, and we didn’t shoot the ball well down the stretch, but we pulled it out because we got some stops. That’s what makes it big.”

Carney jumped into the play when Billups tried to pump-fake Lou Williams.

 

“I tried to rock and get him off-balance, but they came at me with the double-team,” Billups said. “I didn’t think there was enough time to get the ball to anyone else, so I had to shoot it. I got a pretty good look, but that’s not the shot I want to take in that situation.”

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