Basketball: Pistons' fighting talk

Richard Hamilton says the Detroit Pistons are ready to "go to war" when they face the San Antonio Spurs in the deciding game of the NBA finals today.

The match-up at San Antonio is the first winner-take-all game in the NBA finals since 1994, when the Houston Rockets defeated the New York Knicks 90-84.

"It would be a great thing for us to go out on a winning note," Hamilton said.

"We are all prepared to go out there and go to war, and do what we've got to do to try to get a win."

If history is any indicator, the Pistons face an uphill battle. They are hoping to become the first team to win games six and seven on the road.

Pistons guard Chauncey Billups said both teams were under pressure for different reasons. "We're the defending champs. But they are at home.

"The pressure is on them to win this game seven and win it all."

The Spurs wanted to wrap up the series on Wednesday but the Pistons snapped a 10-game losing streak in San Antonio with a 95-86 victory. Detroit are now hoping to become the third team in NBA history to rebound from a 2-0 deficit to land the title.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he was not a big fan of the record books.

"I don't look at records or percentages, or who has won game sevens, or how many we've won at home, or how many close games they have won, and all that kind of stuff," he said.

"Sure, you would rather be 4-0 and go on vacation, but short of that, if somebody said at the beginning of the year you're going to be in game seven of the NBA finals, you'd say, 'I'll take it."'

Detroit coach Larry Brown said his team would simply be a footnote if they lost today.

"Unfortunately, in our country, they only remember the winning team."

- REUTERS