AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - The 76ers did it again Sunday night, winning a game virtually no one expected them to win, stunning the Detroit Pistons in the opener of their first-round playoff series, 90-86.

Turns out, the Sixers were playing against history as much as against the Pistons.

Consider:

In the 16-team postseason format the NBA has used since 1984, the No. 7 seeds have been 59-146 vs. the No. 2 seeds.

The No. 2 seeds have won 44 of 48 series.

Since the first round expanded to a best-of-seven in 2003, the No. 2 seeds have won all 10 series.

Before Sunday night, the Sixers never had won a playoff game against Detroit on the road.

The Sixers never have won a playoff series against the Pistons.

Better than he thought

As ecstatic as Andre Iguodala was with the Sixers' victory Sunday night, he had been somewhat disconsolate about his own performance, telling a close friend, "I played terrible.''

He had shot just 4-for-15 from the floor, throwing a ferocious dunk off the back of the rim, missing his only two three-point attempts, missing two clutch free throws late in the fourth quarter and committing four turnovers.

The friend suggested Iguodala re-examine the box score, which showed he had finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, not far from a triple-double.

"I said, 'Whoa,' '' Iguodala said. "That's telling me that, even if I'm not scoring, I can still be an effective player.''

A death in the family

The Sixers are mourning the death of Ken Berman, 76, a member of Harvey Pollack's original statistical crew in 1951. Berman operated the 24-second clock at Warriors and Sixers games from 1951 to 2006, and had similar duties during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta; he also worked on game-day crews for Temple, the Wings and the Tuck Tapers, an NABL team in Philadelphia.

"He brought me in to so many things, a lifetime of basketball,'' said his son, Scott, who also has been a part of those crews. "He had been on dialysis for 5 1/2 years, and all we talked about was the Sixers, the NCAA Tournament, the Phillies, anything that had to do with sports. He liked everybody.''

Aside from Scott, Ken Berman is survived by his wife, Marsha, daughter, Ilana, and five grandchildren. The funeral was scheduled for tomorrow at Levine's, Street Road, Trevose.

What they're saying

* Sixers forward Reggie Evans: "We're not surprised, especially me. But around the NBA, they're surprised. We looked at a lot of the highlights before the game when they're promoting playoff games, and you see a lot of LA and Boston. You don't see Andre Iguodala when they're showing some dunks and stuff like that. We've definitely got a chip on our shoulder.''

* Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince: "[The Sixers] are a young team. They play hard, and if you let them back in the game they have a chance.''

* Pistons guard Lindsey Hunter: "We better start closing out games and playing the way we're supposed to or we're going to get our butts kicked by a young, hungry team." *