But it is over, at least if the Detroit Pistons want it to be over, which is always a question worth asking.

Judging by last night, however, they are ready to dismiss this young team with its young legs and its fresh ideas about what this postseason might bring.

The Pistons played with sporadic enthusiasm in the first four games of the series, and the 76ers took advantage enough to earn a split in those games. Detroit's recent playoff history indicates that is a familiar pattern.

What happens next also has become familiar to the Pistons' opponents, particularly in the early rounds. What happens is that Detroit rouses itself, often spectacularly, and what once seemed possible disappears like a soft spring evening fading to dusk.

It got dark early for the Sixers last night on the way to the deflating 98-81 loss, with the grim reality of evening closing in before the first period was half completed. The Pistons came out with an intensity that isn't always present. Center Rasheed Wallace, whose mood is never predictable, waved his arms wildly to the four sides of the arena, one-by-one, before the opening tip.

And then it was on. And then it was over.

The Pistons didn't make every shot in the opening period, but it seemed that way. They scored on eight straight possessions midway through the quarter, a stretch in which the Sixers could do nothing at either end of the floor, and suddenly Detroit led by 16 points.

"It was important to do that," Wallace said, with "finally" implied in the answer.

There was plenty of game left, nearly 40 minutes, but, really, there was only accountant's work left to do, the filling in of the lines in the box score, the parsing of the percentages. Whatever their problems have been to this point, the Pistons left them behind. They guarded their lead in the second period, then put on another burst in the third, extending it to as many as 26 points late in the quarter. They shot well, defended well, rebounded well, and even got a little lucky.

When Wallace threw a pass into the lane for Chauncey Billups, rookie Thaddeus Young of the Sixers got a hand on it only to see the tipped ball go up and into the basket. It was that kind of night, and while tomorrow's Game 6 in the Wachovia Center might not be as devastating, that all depends on the Pistons. If they want it to be, it will be.

That's a tough realization for the Sixers, that this series is not about them. They play the same way every night, with enthusiasm and hustle and a willingness to defend. Some nights they shoot a little better than others. Some nights they get more fortunate with the bounces. But, for the most part, they are predictable.

This series has been about Detroit and what it is prepared to do in order to win. Some nights, no credit to the Pistons, that isn't very much. Some nights, like last night, their collective ability is nothing less than overwhelming.

They have turned it on and off in this series like a great jockey rates a horse. Down by 10 points in Game 4 in Philadelphia, facing the possibility of a three-games-to-one series deficit, the Pistons threw the switch. They have outscored the Sixers by 34 points in the six quarters since.

"We've been somewhat lackadaisical at times," Wallace said, explaining the peaks and troughs of the Pistons' performance. "Nothing against the Sixers. They play hard all the time. Sometimes we matched the challenge, and sometimes we don't. The three games we won is when we played harder. And [in Game 6], there will definitely be a lot of pushing and shoving and elbows and stuff."

Wallace said the Pistons want to close things out in Philadelphia, mindful that Orlando is waiting for its next opponent, getting its rest and watching closely. That plan can be spoiled, of course, but it's all up to the Pistons.

The Sixers did get a decent game - "finally," implied - from Andre Iguodala last night, but he didn't have much company, particularly from center Sam Dalenmbert, who picked an awful time to unveil a look-at-me haircut.

"I told Mo that should be a team fine," Wallace said of Dalembert's unfortunate Mohawk.

Usually, Dalembert gets double-doubles. Last night, he got only double-takes.

And that ends the humorous portion of our programming. There's nothing else to laugh about. The Pistons took all the joy from the proceedings and seem intent on keeping a straight face the rest of the way.

"The series isn't over until a team wins four games," Maurice Cheeks said. What else can he say?

The Pistons said otherwise, though. They said last night that it is over.

And this time they might actually be serious.

at 215-854-5842 or bford@phillynews.com.

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