When the Pistons made the move from the Silverdome to The Palace of Auburn Hills in 1988, they made quite a splash in the inaugural season.
They won the first of their back-to-back NBA championship in that 1988-89 season.
Welcome to Auburn Hills.
PHOTOS OF PISTONS GAMES THROUGH THE YEARS
It wasn’t the building that made the team, but it didn’t hurt.
It was the perfect home for the Bad Boys and those to follow.
It could be deafening loud, so much so one could almost feel the floor vibrate.
DAVIDSON CREDITED WITH HAVING FORESIGHT TO BUILD THE PALACE
While the Pistons won three NBA championships while playing at The Palace the first two were won on the road. Only in 2004 did Detroit fans get to celebrate the clinching win at The Palace.
After 29 seasons, the Pistons will play their final game at The Palace on Monday. Next season they’ll join the Red Wings as the new tenants at Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit.
Here’s a look back at 10 of the most memorable games at The Palace:
1. May 31, 1989. With the Eastern Conference finals tied at two games a piece, the Pistons beat Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls 94-85 in Game 5 at The Palace to take 3-2 lead in series. Vinnie Johnson, off the bench, led all scorers with 22 points. Isiah Thomas scored 17 points and dished out a dozen assists. Michael Jordan, who won Game 3 of the series with three seconds left, finished with 18 points and nine assists. The Pistons then won the next game in Chicago, 103-94, and went on to sweep the Lakers in the NBA Finals, winning Game 4 at Los Angeles.
2. June 3, 1990. Nothing better than a Eastern Conference finals Game 7 at The Palace against the Chicago Bulls, perhaps the best rivalry in the NBA at the time. In the first six games, the home team had emerged victorious. Turns out it wasn’t a nail-biter with the Pistons winning 93-74. The possibility of back-to-back championships was on the line and Detroit did not wilt under pressure, they thrived. They scored 31 points in the second quarter, holding the Bulls to just 14 for a 48-33 halftime lead. Scottie Pippen scored just 2 points in 42 minutes of playing time. Michael Jordan had 31 points along with nine assists. While the Bulls only had two in double figures, the Pistons had five. Isiah Thomas was on fire with 21 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds, two steals and a block. Mark Aguirre, off the bench, had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Here’s a remarkable stat – the Pistons were 1-of-5 from 3-point range while the Bulls were 2-of-19. Detroit went on to beat Portland in five, winning games three through five on the road to win back-to-back NBA titles.
3. May 27, 1991. In Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals the Pistons lost to the Bulls, 115-94. Perhaps it was the beginning of the end for the Bad Boys’ reign. The Bulls swept the Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals, doing the unthinkable of winning Games 3 and 4 at The Palace. Isiah Thomas and the starters filed off the court just before the game ended, walking past the Bulls without glancing at them or shaking their hands, as was the custom. The Bulls had been knocked out of the playoffs by the Pistons in 1988, 1989 and 1990. Finally it was their time and it was too much for the Bad Boys to handle on their home court.
4. May 14, 2004. In Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Pistons lost 127-120 in triple overtime to the New Jersey Nets. Memorable? You bet. Chauncey Billups hit a 43-foot shot to tie the game in regulation with one-tenth of a second left on the clock. The Pistons couldn’t pull it out at the end, but it had to be one of the most dramatic postseason games at The Palace. Billups not only scored 31 points, but had 10 rebounds, eight assists and three steals. Off the Nets’ bench, Brian Scalabrine made 6-of-7 from the floor including 4-of-4 from 3-point range to finish with 17 points. The Pistons shook it off and won the next two games – one at New Jersey and the seventh game at The Palace to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
5. June 1, 2004. A win at The Palace and the Pistons were onto the NBA Finals. A loss would force Game 7 in Indiana. With less than four minutes remaining the game was tied at 59-59. Rip Hamilton had frustrated the Pacers’ Ron Artest throughout the game. Artest was strong but not as good at chasing and running. Artest decked Hamilton in the face with a forearm to collect a flagrant foul. Hamilton was down on the court for minutes (it only seemed longer), but then got up and sunk both free throws. Detroit maintained possession of the ball and Rasheed Wallace dunked to give the Pistons a 4-point lead which they did not surrender.
6. June 15, 2004. While the Pistons won back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990, the winning games were on the road. That changed in 2004 when the won their third NBA championship with a 100-87 win over the Lakers in Game 5. At the time it was called the biggest upset in NBA Finals history. The series, which was a 2-3-2 format, started with the Pistons splitting the first two games in Los Angeles. Then when they came back to The Palace they won three straight. In this clinching game Ben Wallace baited Shaquille O’Neal into foul trouble while all five of the Pistons starters scored in double figures with Rip Hamilton leading the way with 21 points. Detroit held a 55-45 lead at the half and sailed through the second half. Kobe Bryant scored 24 points but struggled and was 7-of-21 from the floor. Chauncey Billups was the NBA Finals MVP.
7. Nov. 19, 2004. Four words say it all: “Malice at the Palace.” The Pacers beat the Pistons 97-82 but that is not the story here. With just 49.5 seconds remaining a fight broke out on the court after Indiana’s Ron Artest slapped Ben Wallace across the back of the head during a layup attempt. Wallace then shoved Artest in the face with both hands. Then players from both teams tried to get between them. After it was broken up, a fan threw a Diet Coke from the stands at Artest who was lying on the scorer’s table. Artest then went into the crowd and ignited a massive brawl between players and fans that went from the seats back onto the court. The NBA suspended nine players for a total of 146 games costing them a collective $11 million. The fight led the NBA to increase security between players and fans. This was the first time the two teams had met since Detroit prevailed in the Eastern Conference finals in May 2004. The Associated Press labeled it “the most infamous brawl in NBA History.”
8. June 4, 2005. In Game 6 of Eastern Conference finals the Pistons coasted to a 91-66 win over Miami. The game was won in the second and third quarters when the Pistons outscored the Heat 51-29. Hamilton was key for Detroit with 24 points, six assists and six rebounds. Ben Wallace did the dirty work with seven rebounds, five blocks, four steals and six points. Shaquille O’Neal led the Heat, who were led by current Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy, with 24 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks. The win knotted series at 3-3. Detroit won the series at Miami two days later. And then in the NBA Finals the Pistons lost to San Antonio in seven games, winning two of the three games at The Palace.
9. May 31, 2007. The Pistons lost in double overtime 109-107 to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, giving the Cavs a 3-2 edge in the series. Detroit had no answer for LeBron James who scored Cleveland’s 25 final points and 48 for the game. Hamilton had 26 points while Chauncey Billups contributed 21 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Detroit went back to Cleveland for Game 6 and the Cavs took care of business winning 98-82.
10. April 8, 2016. After a six-year absence from the playoffs, the Pistons beat the Washington Wizards 112-99 to seal a playoff berth. They did it with two games remaining in the regular season. For coach Stan Van Gundy, it’s the game that stands out as his most memorable at The Palace because it got the Pistons back to the postseason. Of course, they were swept by the Cavaliers, but at least they crossed one hurdle and got back to postseason action. They expected to build on that playoff appearance this season but came up short, fading down the stretch losing 11 of their final 16 games with two games remaining.
