The series is not over. Not officially. Not mathematically. Not in a clean- out-the-lockers- and-exchange-off-season-phone-numbers kind of way. But it is over, at least if the Detroit Pistons want it to be over, which is always a question worth asking. Judging by last night, however, they are ready to dismiss the young Philadelphia 76ers with its young legs and its fresh ideas about what this postseason might bring.

The Pistons played with sporadic enthusiasm in the first four games of the series, and the 76ers took advantage enough to earn a split in those games. Detroit’s recent playoff history indicates that is a familiar pattern. What happens next also has become familiar to the Pistons’ opponents, particularly in the early rounds. What happens is that Detroit rouses itself, often spectacularly, and what once seemed possible disappears like a soft spring evening fading to dusk.

It got dark early for the Sixers last night on the way to the deflating 98-81 loss, with the grim reality of evening closing in before the first period was half completed. The Pistons came out with an intensity that isn’t always present wrote Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Bob Ford.

Philadelphia Inquirer

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