Schedule and 2003 Results
Regular Season Records: Detroit 50-32, Philadelphia 48-34
Game 1 on Tuesday, 6 May: Philadelphia loses at Detroit, 98-pts-87
Game 2 on Thursday, 8 May: Philadelphia loses at Detroit, 104-pts-97 (OT)
Game 3 on Saturday, 10 May: Detroit loses at Philadelphia, 93-pts-83
Game 4 on Sunday, 11 May: Detroit loses at Philadelphia, 95-pts-82
Game 5 on Wednesday, 14 May: Philadelphia loses at Detroit, 78-pts-77
Game 6 on Friday, 16 May: Detroit wins at Philadelphia, 93-pts-89 (OT)

SERIES NOTES:

After Game 6: In the first road victory by a team in MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 series 896, the Detroit Pistons visited and defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 93-pts-89 in overtime, thereby winning series 896 (4-games-2). The Detroit Pistons now have a best-of-7 NBA playoff record of 12-10, while that for the Philadelphia 76ers falls to 18-20. The win order for this series was WWLLWW: Series 896 is the 19th NBA best-of-7 series, the ninth NBA Quarterfinals-round best-of-7 series, the 13th NBA/NHL Quarterfinals-round best-of-7 series, and the 50th MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 series (all rounds) to go through this particular win order.

After Game 5: The Detroit Pistons hosted and defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 78-pts-77 to take a 3-games-2 lead in MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 896. This series and MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 series 898 (San Antonio vs. the L.A. Lakers) continue to follow the same win order and site order. When leading a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 3-games-2, the Detroit Pistons have a series record of 4-1 and a Game 6 record of 3-2; when trailing 3-games-2, the Philadelphia 76ers have a series record of 0-9 and a Game 6 record of 4-5.

After Game 4: The Philadelphia 76ers hosted and defeated the Detroit Pistons 95-pts-82, thereby tying MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 series 896 at 2-games-all. When tied 2-games-all in an NBA best-of-7 playoff series, the Philadelphia 76ers have a series record of 5-4 and a Game 5 record of 5-4, while the Detroit Pistons have a 4-6 series record and a Game 5 record of 5-5 (and currently are on a five-game Game-Five winning streak in best-of-7 play). This series and MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 series 898 (San Antonio vs. the L.A. Lakers) are following the same win order and site order.

After Game 3: With MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 series 896 having shifted to Philadelphia for Games 3-4, the Philadelphia 76ers hosted and defeated the Detroit Pistons in Game 3 by a score of 93-pts-83. Detroit now leads series 896, 2-games-1. When the Detroit Pistons lead a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 2-games-1, their series record is 6-1 and their Game 4 record is 4-3. When the Philadelphia 76ers trail a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 2-games-1, their series record is 2-11 and their Game 4 record is 4-9.

After Game 2: In Game 2, the Detroit Pistons hosted and defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 104-pts-97 (in overtime) to increase their series 896 lead to 2-games-nil. When leading a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 2-games-nil, the Detroit Pistons have a series record of 4-0; when trailing 2-games-nil, the Philadelphia 76ers have a series record of 0-8. In best-of-7 NBA playoff series from 1947 through the 2003 Preliminary round, when a team wins Game 1 by 11 points and Game 2 by less than 11 points (irrespective of game sites), its series record is 5-0; ironically, the first team to win such a series was the 1977 Philadelphia 76ers, in MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 series 333 (an NBA Semifinals series vs. the Houston Rockets).

After Game 1: The Detroit Pistons hosted and defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 98-pts-87 to take a 1-game-nil lead in MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 series 896. When leading a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 1-game-nil, the Detroit Pistons have a series record of 9-3; when trailing 1-game-nil, the Philadelphia 76ers have a series record of 3-14.

Pre-series assessment: In the 2002-03 regular season, Detroit finished 2 games ahead of Philadelphia. From 1947 through the 2003 NBA Preliminary round, when an NBA team led its best-of-7 playoff series opponent by 2 regular-season games, it has gone on to post a 13-8 (.619) best-of-7 series record in that series against that opponent. MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 series 896 is the first best-of-7 meeting between Philadelphia and Detroit.