AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Two impressive home victories might be all for naught if the Pistons lose tomorrow in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. That's why the players said yesterday that they would look at the game as if they were down in the series, which is tied, 2-2.

Tomorrow's game against the Spurs will be the last home game of the season and possibly the last time Larry Brown will coach the Pistons at the Palace. The Finals will then return to San Antonio for Game 6 and possibly Game 7.

The first four games in the series have been blowouts, with the Spurs winning at home by 15 and 21 points and the Pistons at the Palace by 17 and 31, respectively.

Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace doesn't expect another blowout in Game 5.

"We still have to play that last game, and that's going to be the hardest one because we know they're going to be geeked also because they don't want to go back to San Antonio down 3-2," Wallace said. "I think it's going to be the toughest one of the three games here at the Palace."

Wallace helped contain All-Star forward Tim Duncan in Game 4, playing physical defense and getting his hands on the ball when Duncan tried to maneuver inside. Duncan scored 16 points on 5-for-17 shooting.

"The fans kept us pumped up, and the adrenaline was up longer," Wallace said. "We've been able to come up with some big steals when we needed it. [Thursday] was an adrenaline game. We were hyped from the beginning and stayed tenacious for that whole 48 minutes. We didn't let down, and we didn't make it easy for them to run their plays.

"Those kind of games happen sometimes, so we're not expecting to go out there and win by 20 or 30."

Ben Wallace especially has been successful just reaching out and slapping at the ball as Duncan is gearing up for a play. Duncan has missed 22 shots the past two games, a result of having a hand in his face on almost all of his 32 attempts.

The Pistons won 102-71 Thursday even though usual leading scorer Richard Hamilton finished with only 12 points on 4-for-16 shooting.

"I had four points going into the fourth quarter, and I look up, and we're up by 15," said Hamilton, one of seven Pistons' scorers in double figures. "I said, 'Shoot, I don't have to score. Bruce Bowen is trying to do everything in his power to stop me, and we're up 15.' "

That comfortable lead was partly sustained by a combined 30 points from backups Lindsey Hunter (17) and Antonio McDyess (13).

On the defensive end, the Pistons have kept the Spurs from driving repeatedly to the basket. Those drives led to inside points or open looks from three-point range in Games 1 and 2.

At the Palace, the Pistons have:

• Slowed shooting guard Manu Ginobili, who appeared ready to accept the Finals Most Valuable Player award last Sunday after the first two games. Ginobili averaged 26.5 points in those games, then got banged around at the Palace, where he has averaged 9.5 in the last two.

• Kept guard Tony Parker from penetrating as much inside. Parker hasn't been the same since Chauncey Billups administered a hard foul in Game 3.

• Frustrated Duncan, who sat dejected next to coach Gregg Popovich in the final minutes Thursday as the Spurs experienced their worst Finals loss ever.

Since leaving Texas, the Spurs have been outscored by 48 points, and their swagger has been transformed into doubt. Before this week, the Spurs never had given up more than 89 points in a Finals game. The Pistons have averaged 99 against them at the Palace.

There are many theories about why the series has swung so dramatically after the Pistons appeared too tuckered out to put up a fight in Game 2.

Even the Pistons' coaches have asked themselves that. About the only answer they could come up with: It took a few days to rebound from the Eastern Conference finals against Miami, a seven-game tug-of-war that wore down the Wallaces.

There's something about playing Shaquille O'Neal that lingers. There are a lot of pain-invoking words that could be used to describe this effect, but it comes down to this: It's a bloody hangover.

"My opinion is that the Miami series was such an emotional series that I just remember seeing the guys in the locker room after Game 7, and the only time I've ever seen them remotely that happy was in the Finals when we beat L.A. in Game 5," Pistons assistant coach Dave Hanners said. "They were so high, and then what happens is, when you're on the plane ride home you start coming down, and when you get down, you can't get back up so quickly."

And even though the Pistons had two days off between Games 1 and 2 in the Finals, the big men didn't appear ready to battle Duncan or create a second line of defense to stop Parker and Ginobili's dribble penetration.

"Our guards feel like we can always pressure you, pressure our opponents, because we've got the most athletic and quickest big men in the league with Ben and 'Sheed and 'Dyess," Billups said. "So we feel comfortable when guys go by us. They are going to take care of business and change their shot. If not, at least clog it up in the middle.

"It's a confidence thing. We all have confidence in one another that the next man is going to have my back, and that's just the way we are."