The Pistons pushed the "on" button in the third quarter last night, and it could change the complexion of the series. It surely changed Game 4.

Trailing by 10 at halftime, the Pistons outscored the Sixers by 18 points in the third period on the way to a 93-84 victory at the Wachovia Center. The best-of-seven series is tied at two games apiece.

Game 5 is tomorrow at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

"The game turned in the third quarter," Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said, stating the obvious. "The first half was as good a half as we played."

The Sixers led by as many as 14 points late in the second quarter, and just about everybody in the Pistons' lineup except Tayshaun Prince and Antonio McDyess, who was playing with a broken nose, lacked spirit.

"The main thing I said at halftime was 'Are we having fun yet?' because we weren't," said Pistons coach Flip Saunders. "I thought our guys were playing really tight, afraid to take a shot, afraid to make a move."

The one thing the Pistons weren't afraid to do in the first half was miss shots. They hit just 15 of 40 in the first two quarters.

The third quarter was a different story. Detroit scored the first 11 points of the period to take a 47-46 lead. And the Sixers seemed shell-shocked.

In the third quarter, Rasheed Wallace scored 10 of his 20 points, hitting three three-pointers, and Chauncey Billups added nine.

"As good as Detroit is, we gave them a little life in the third quarter, and they kind of turned it on," Cheeks said.

The Pistons played the third quarter like a team that did not want to go back home trailing by three games to one in the series.

"This is the first time that we dictated the tempo to start the second half," said Prince, who had a game-high 23 points. "I think by doing that, it really allowed us to get back into the game within three minutes."

With a 46-36 halftime lead, the Sixers might have been guilty of thinking this one was over.

"It's human to be up by 10 and think you can go up three [games] to one," Cheeks said.

Bad thinking.

Leading by 70-62 after three quarters, the Pistons were not seriously challenged in the final period.

One of the most hollow statistics is that all five Sixers starters scored in double figures, led by Thaddeus Young with 15 points. Willie Green and Andre Miller added 13 and Samuel Dalembert contributed 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Then, of course, there was the continued confounding play of Andre Iguodala, who had 12 points and shot 4 for 16 from the field.

For the series, Iguodala is shooting 11 for 49 (22.4 percent).

And to make matters worse, the man he is guarding and who is defending him - Prince - has been the best player in this series.

Prince shot 11 for 12 last night, and for the series he is shooting 31 for 47 (66 percent).

Iguodala has not experienced this type of frustrating stretch all season.

"It's a little different, especially going up against arguably the best team defensively in the league," Iguodala said. "They do a good job sinking in and making sure the first option doesn't beat them."

And the way Iguodala is going, the Sixers need other options on offense. Last night, especially in the second half, they were not found.

Cheeks continues to insist that he will not put pressure on Iguodala to be the main scorer, but it is difficult to think that the Sixers can win this series if he does not increase his offensive output.

Still, Iguodala and the Sixers profess to be confident, even though what happened in the third quarter can be the most deflating of experiences.

"We believe in ourselves," Iguodala insisted. "We might be the only ones who believe in ourselves, but we feel we can win any game."

See more photos from the game at http://go.philly.com/photos.