The 2004 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 2003–04 National Basketball Association (NBA) season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs.This season's NBA Finals was contested between the Western Conference playoff champion Los Angeles Lakers and the Eastern Conference playoff champion Detroit Pistons.The Lakers held home court advantage, and the series was played … O'Neal scored 36 for the Lakers and Bryant scored 20 but shot 32 percent from the field.Malone would play his last game, as a knee injury would not allow him to dress in Game Five.In Game 5, the Pistons won their first championship since 1990, and Larry Brown finally won a professional title. However, the Pistons' veterans only wanted to In Game 3, the Pistons were on fire to start. The Pistons beat Los Angeles by 20 in their first NBA Finals appearance together at The Palace of Auburn Hills since 1990 to take a 2–1 lead in the series. Head coach The Pistons' win was the 21st championship between the four professional sports teams in The Finals were played using a 2–3–2 site format, where the first two and last two games are held at the team with The Pistons became the fourth team to sweep the middle three games since the NBA started using the 2-3-2 format in 1985, but the first to do so at home; the previous three times this had occurred, it was done by away teams (This was the first Finals series to be played on a Sunday–Tuesday–Thursday rotation since The NBA heavily publicized the series as it has done with all other NBA Finals series. The 68 points scored by the Lakers set a franchise record for the lowest number of points scored in a playoff game.
The Lakers had won three consecutive championships from During the regular season, after starting the season 18–3, the Lakers were afflicted by numerous injuries and stumbled to a 56–26 record to finish the season with the second seed in the Western Conference.The Lakers breezed past their first-round opponent, the The Pistons made another major -- perhaps, riskier -- coaching change, firing In the Eastern Conference Finals, a match up with the 61-win, Carlisle-led The teams split the two meetings, each won by the home team: The Pistons defense had overcome the high-scoring Laker offense, winning the game by 13, winning the series 4-1, and also ending a long Laker dynasty that lasted for many years. Results, Statistics, Leaders and more for the 2004 NBA playoffs. However, the Lakers used a 7-0 run to regain the lead with 7:00 remaining in the 4th Quarter.
They started the 1st Quarter on a 10-2 run. The series ultimately featured the perceived underdog Pistons, dominating a Lakers team composed of four future Hall of Famers. 2004 NBA Playoff Series. He went 0-3 in NBA Finals competition. Perennial Considered to be a stunning upset by most of the NBA world, the Detroit Pistons managed to defeat the Lakers with imposing defense.The Pistons trailed the Lakers 41–40 at halftime, but by the fourth quarter the Pistons had opened up a 13-point lead; they would not trail for the rest of the game. League Champion: Detroit Pistons. The next play, Kobe Bryant missed a 3-pointer but O'Neal was there to grab the offensive board and made an and-1 to cut the deficit to 3. This win marked the Pistons' fifth win overall as a franchise (including two NBL championships: in 1944 and 1945 as the Fort Wayne Pistons) as well as its first NBA title since two 1989-90 NBA championship seasons; nearly fifteen years. Lakers vs Pistons, 1-4 - 2004 NBA Finals Team and players stats from the NBA Finals series played between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 Playoffs.