Considered the longest of long shots before the series began and counted out after trailing by 15 points midway through the third quarter, the Sixers stunned the Detroit Pistons, 90-86, in Game 1 of the best-of-seven series at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Who would have thought that the second-seeded Pistons would be in a desperate situation as they face the Sixers here in Game 2 on Wednesday?

Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks has had plenty of experience watching his team fight back this season.

"We have been down 12-15 points and clawed our way back, and this is what we did tonight," Cheeks said.

Point guard Andre Miller had 20 points and six assists, scoring 11 points in the fourth quarter, when the Sixers outscored Detroit, 27-16. Willie Green scored 17 points, shooting 7 for 11 from the field.

The biggest surprise was Reggie Evans, who did not start at power forward (Thaddeus Young did in his place) but put on an impressive finish. Not known as a scorer, Evans had 11 points and 14 rebounds in nearly 32 minutes.

Evans had six points and five rebounds in the fourth quarter, including a key tip-in of a Miller miss and a 17-foot fadeaway jumper as the shot clock expired.

"I thought Reggie Evans was great," Cheeks said. "His defense and rebounding - he got every rebound."

The Sixers trailed by 51-38 at halftime, and the way the Pistons play defense, things did not look bright.

"In the first half a lot of us were shell-shocked and surprised at the playoff atmosphere," Evans said. "We kind of shook the jitters off at halftime, feeling now we were introduced to the playoffs and knew we had to calm down and play like our normal selves."

The Sixers scored the first eight points of the third quarter, but Detroit then took charge and was up by 62-47 when Antonio McDyess hit a layup with 6 minutes, 5 seconds left in the period.

"I don't know if Detroit relaxed at that point," said Andre Iguodala, who had 16 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists but shot just 4 for 15. "That is Detroit: They tend to lull you to sleep, and we kept fighting."

This comeback may have been more impressive than the 25-point deficit the Sixers overcame against Portland, or their rally from an 18-point margin in the fourth quarter at Chicago.

Why? Because of the quality of the opponent. This was the playoff-tested Pistons, who have earned a trip to at least the Eastern Conference finals in each of the last five seasons.

"They are a gritty team and made plays," Detroit coach Flip Saunders said of the Sixers. "Evans was huge for them."

Detroit's Chauncey Billups, a 91.8 percent free-throw shooter in the regular season, missed three key foul shots in the fourth quarter.

Billups did hit two foul shots to bring the Pistons within 87-86 with 45.1 seconds left.

On the next possession, Samuel Dalembert took a bounce pass from Iguodala and was called for a charge, with Jason Maxiell firmly holding his ground with 26.4 seconds left.

Tayshaun Prince then missed an open jumper for Detroit, and Iguodala was fouled with 11.3 seconds left.

Iguodala hit only 1 of 2 free throws, making it 88-86.

Rasheed Wallace, who had 24 points, 9 rebounds and 7 blocked shots, then missed a turnaround jumper inside. Iguodala got the rebound and was fouled by Richard Hamilton with seven seconds remaining.

This time, Iguodala made both free throws, Billups missed a final three-pointer, and boos filtered from the sellout crowd of 22,076.

"We had a lot of opportunities and missed a lot of easy shots and free throws in timely situations," Saunders said. "We didn't come up with big plays when we needed them."

And as they have so often, the Sixers did.

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