Basketball: Destiny beckons for Pistons

A title and a dynasty hang in the balance as the Detroit Pistons, the underdogs, look to complete their startling run to a championship with a game five win over the Los Angeles Lakers today.

With three titles in four years and a roster full of All-Stars and future Hall of Famers, the swashbuckling Lakers arrived in the Motor City last week expecting to earn coach Phil Jackson a record 10th crown and cement their status as one of the best teams in history.

But the Pistons, who rely on teamwork and gritty defence ahead of glitz and glamor, have removed the aura of invincibility surrounding the Lakers with a complete performance that has sent a buzz through the sport.

With the exception of a brief lapse at the end of an overtime loss in game two, the Pistons have utterly dominated the NBA finals with their inspired and athletic play.

Armed with a hunger and intensity the Lakers have been unable to match, the Pistons have defused LA's two biggest weapons, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, to take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series and move to the brink of their first championship since 1990.

In the history of the NBA, no team has ever rallied from a 3-1 deficit to lift the title.

But the Lakers are also quick to point out that if the Pistons want to celebrate a championship, they must also rewrite the record books, with no team having swept the middle three games of the finals since the league switched to the existing two-three-two format.