Well, they did it. But it wasn't so easy.
First, it looked as if the Detroit Pistons were going to runaway with Friday night's game at The Palace against the Washington Wizards.
Then the Wizards fought back from a double-digit deficit, and in the fourth quarter temporarily took the lead. But only very briefly.
The Pistons didn't give up and ended up victorious, beating the Wizards 112-99.
Reggie Jackson had 39 points and nine assists.
Now, the Pistons have clinched a spot in the playoff. It's the first time since 2009.
From here, it only gets tougher.
Deadline Detroit's Joey Yashinsky wrote earlier Friday:
As the 8-seed, you get LeBron and the Cavs in Round One. As the 7-seed, you get DeMar DeRozan and the Raptors.
In looking at the standings, you’d think that both teams present a similar degree of difficulty in pulling the opening round upset. The Cavs are a very good, but not otherworldly 56-23. The Raps are close behind at 52-26. But only one of those teams has a player that has advanced to the NBA Finals each of the last five seasons. And that player would be the aforementioned King of the Eastern Conference, Sir LeBron James.
When a guy takes his team to the championship round for five consecutive years, the chances of his squad suddenly getting trounced in the first round are next to none. Those first series are just a tuneup for LeBron. Consider these past opening playoff “battles”:
