But, just like the last game, Paul Pierce got many one-on-one opportunities against Hamilton, and that was precisely what led to the Pistons' demise.
In the last game, Paul Pierce's performance was very average, failing to produce against Hamilton, even leading to ridicule from Artest.
But you can't expect someone like Pierce to fail to find his form in two consecutive games.
Especially after the morale-boosting big win yesterday.
Today, Pierce scored 31 points throughout the game, completely destroying Richard Hamilton's defense.
Roger was suppressed by Artest and Big Ben to only 25 points, but he provided 11 assists. And because Pierce took on more offensive responsibilities, Roger could allocate more energy to the defensive end.
So tonight, Roger held Artest to just 5 points, with only one field goal. In the final quarter of the game, when the team needed someone to step up the most, Artest was held by Roger to just one shot attempt.
