Series Lead Has Piston Fans in an Uproar

Of the Detroit Pistons’ 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals, Bob Wojnowski of the Detroit News wrote: “It’s happening before the Lakers’ disbelieving eyes. It’s happening in front of the basketball world’s disbelieving minds. It’s happening amid so much noise and clamor, it’s impossible not to see it, or hear it.”

Of all the noise inside the Palace on Thursday night, Wojnowski wrote: “The only ring the Lakers can fathom right now is the one that won’t stop rattling in their ears.”

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Trivia time: The Lakers lost Game 3 by 20 points. When was the last time they lost by 20 or more points in the Finals?

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A different direction: Regarding Detroit’s Ben Wallace going from corn rows to an Afro between Games 2 and 3 of the NBA Finals, Laker radio commentator Mychal Thompson said: “You could say he’s letting his hair down, but he’s really letting it up.”

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Numbers game: The Lakers had never been held below 70 points in a playoff game before Thursday night. As for their defense, Randy Hill of Foxsports.com noted that the Lakers have something in common with Anna Nicole Smith: “They rarely keep anyone under 80.”

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Happier times: After Luke Walton’s performance in Game 2, not only were “Luuuke” T-shirts a hot item, Jim Carson of KRTH, according to Don Barrett of LARadio.com, thought the Lakers should become the “L.A. Lukers.”

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Look at him now: Jimmy Kimmel has been bashing Detroit on his ABC show, so the Sacramento Kings’ Chris Webber, a native of Detroit, brought him a present on Thursday night’s show, an oversized Isiah Thomas Piston jersey.

“Everybody in Detroit might want to see you wear it,” Webber told Kimmel.

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Some history: After Webber also presented Kimmel with a Detroit Tiger baseball cap, the TV host explained the roots of his dislike for the Motor City.

“The Tigers beat my then-beloved San Diego Padres in 1984,” Kimmel said, referring to the World Series. “And that’s something I never thought I’d wear, either.

“I hope this is humiliation enough for me, but I doubt it.”

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But no love seat: From Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times: “This backfield might sit well in Green Bay: a Packer tandem of Najeh Davenport and Tim Couch.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1948, Citation, ridden by Eddie Arcaro, won the Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown with an eight-length victory over Better Self. Arcaro won the Triple Crown with Whirlaway in 1941.

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Trivia answer: The Lakers lost to the Indiana Pacers, 120-87, in Game 5 of the 2000 Finals, but won the series.

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And finally: From Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post and aol.com: “Ohio State fired basketball coach Jim O’Brien the other day after he admitted paying a former recruit $6,000. Now for the thing that got O’Brien fired: The kid didn’t sign with the Buckeyes.”

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Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.