MILWAUKEE -- Isiah Thomas, a scoring and assist threat throughout his career, Monday night added clutch rebounding to his repertoire.
Thomas had a triple-double with 17 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds -- including a big rebound with 22 seconds left -- to lift the Detroit Pistons to a 96-94 triumph over the Milwaukee Bucks and a sweep of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Bill Laimbeer missed a 3-point attempt with 22 seconds left and Detroit leading 95-93, but Thomas grabbed the long rebound and was fouled with eight seconds remaining.
Thomas sank 1 of 2 free throws to give the Pistons a 96-93 lead.
'Usually the 3-point shot is a long rebound,' Thomas said. 'I ran and positioned myself and it bounced at me.'
After a timeout, Milwaukee inbounded at halfcourt and Ricky Pierce was fouled while attempting a 3-point shot with two seconds left.
Pierce made the first free throw to cut it to 96-94 and purposely missed the second attempt but the ball bounced off the rim and off a player, and went rolling into the backcourt as time expired.
'I wanted it to drop in front of the basket,' Pierce said of the final free throw attempt. 'Someone deflected it.'
The Pistons, 7-0 in the playoffs, will face the winner of the Chicago Bulls-New York Knicks series in the Eastern Conference final. Chicago leads that semifinal series 3-1 with Game 5 Tuesday night at New York.
Detroit's four-game sweep of Milwaukee came after the Pistons knocked out the Boston Celtics in the first round.
'I wasn't predicting that we would sweep,' said Joe Dumars, who led the Pistons with 22 points. 'If you asked me if we'd sweep the Milwaukee Bucks before the series, I'd have said 'no.''
Milwaukee played without three starters and only dressed eight players, including Mark Davis who was activated Monday but did not play. However, the Bucks took a 21-point lead at one point in the second quarter.
'They came out tonight on fire,' Detroit Coach Chuck Daly said. 'I was afraid this would probably happen that we might have a letdown and I knew they would play at a level beyond what you might expect.
'And they get up 18 or 20 or whatever it happened to be, I was very concerned and knew we could not get back in the game offensively, we had to get back in it defensively.'
Milwaukee played without starters Terry Cummings (sprained ankle), Paul Pressey (dislocated shoulder) and Larry Krystkowiak (knee). In addition, reserve center Paul Mokeski (broken ribs) and guard Rickey Green (hip pointer) did not dress.
'You just feel like you've got to play the best that you can,' said Milwaukee's Jay Humphries, who sank 2 free throws with 44 seconds remaining to pull the Bucks within 95-93.
Milwaukee used a 7-1 run to pull within 93-91 on Pierce's driving basket with 1:51 left. Dumars then sank 2 free throws with 1:34 left to give Detroit a 4-point margin.
'Our guys got down eight in the last quarter and could have mailed it in, but then we came back with the opportunity to win the game with the last possession,' Bucks' Coach Del Harris said.
Fred Roberts scored a career-high 33 points and Pierce added 21 for Milwaukee.
Detroit, which has not allowed 100 points in a playoff game this year, outscored the Bucks 32-17 in the third quarter and took the lead for good at 66-63 on Thomas' 3-pointer with 4:11 left in the quarter. The Pistons converted 12 of 18 field goals in the quarter.
Milwaukee used a 12-2 run to grab a 45-24 lead on Jack Sikma's layup with 7:33 left in the half. Detroit then used a 13-2 run behind two 3-point baskets by Laimbeer and a 3-pointer from Thomas to pull within 47-37 with 3:40 left in the first half.
