The Pistons immediately put Alston at the line and he made his second free throw for a six-point lead with 17.3 seconds left. Rasheed Wallace missed a 3, but when McGrady missed both free throws with 11.1 seconds left, the Pistons had a glimmer of hope.

That ended when Delfino, assuming Yao would come to meet him again, missed a layup, and the Pistons let the final 5.9 seconds run out.

After scoring the first 10 points of the first half, the Rockets scored 8 of the first 10 of the second half, taking their lead to 56-37 less than three minutes into the second half.

After a Billups technical foul, Yao sank a free throw for a 20-point lead with five minutes still left in the third quarter. That did not last long, but the Rockets kept the Pistons well off their pace, only briefly within 15, and trailing, 73-56, heading into the fourth quarter.

The Pistons came in with one of the league's best road records, but with a fourth-quarter lead at home, the Rockets were 23-3 when leading after three quarters.

Still, after Rafer Alston began the fourth quarter with a drive that pushed the lead back to 19, the Rockets began to crack. It took more than three minutes before they scored again, with Alston sinking a 3. Ronald Murray and Antonio McDyess each hit jumpers. Delfino put in a corner 3. And the Pistons had a 7-2 run to reduce the lead to 13, with 7 1/2 minutes left.

That brought Tracy McGrady, Shane Battier and Chuck Hayes in off the bench, with Yao needing a break. And that brought a quick surge. But with the Rockets leading by 15, Delfino sank a 3 and Wallace put in a pair of free throws.

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