Series Summary
| Game | Date | Home Team | Result | Road Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | Sunday, June 6 | Los Angeles Lakers | 87-75(0-1) | Detroit Pistons |
| Game 2 | Tuesday, June 8 | Los Angeles Lakers | 99-91 OT (1-1) | Detroit Pistons |
| Game 3 | Thursday, June 10 | Detroit Pistons | 88-68(2-1) | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Game 4 | Sunday, June 13 | Detroit Pistons | 88-80(3-1) | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Game 5 | Tuesday, June 15 | Detroit Pistons | 100-87(4-1) | Los Angeles Lakers |
The Finals were played using a 2–3–2 site format, where the first two and last two games are held at the team with home court advantage. This is only used in the Finals, all other playoff games are held in a 2–2–1–1–1 format (the team with home court advantage starts).
The Pistons became the fourth team to sweep the middle three games since the NBA started using the 2-3-2 format in 1985. But they became the first to do so at home; the previous three times this has occurred were done by road teams (1990 Pistons, 1991 Chicago Bulls, 2001 Lakers). With this, Detroit became the only team to have both swept the middle three games at home and on the road.
This was the first Finals series to be played on the current Sunday–Tuesday–Thursday rotation since 1990. It is also the last series to have Game 1 be played on a Sunday. From 2005 to 2010, the championship series started on either the first or second Thursday in June.
Read more about this topic: 2004 NBA Finals
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