The Los Angeles Lakers team that came into the NBA Finals heavily favored to win the championship is now reeling from the damage inflicted on their title hopes by the underdog Detroit Pistons.  And the Lakers may not get up from this latest blow.

Another round of smothering defense that forced Kobe Bryant into 8-25 shooting, in combination with a deadly scoring duo of Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups, lifted the Pistons to their second win in a row at The Palace of Auburn Hills and gave them a commanding 3-1 series lead.

The Pistons now stand one win away from knocking out LA and pulling one of the biggest upsets in the history of the NBA Finals.

Shaquille O?Neal?s 36-point, 20-rebound performance was not enough for LA.  The Pistons turned a close game to their advantage in the final period to take Game 4 by a score of 88-80.  

Rasheed Wallace had 26 points and 13 rebounds and scored 10 in the fourth quarter while Billups, who had 23 points in the game, hit two crucial three-point shots in crunch time.  This gave the Pistons a 10-point lead with three minutes left and then Wallace hit two big jump shots in the final 2 minutes to secure victory.

The Pistons can clinch the championship at home in Game 5 Tuesday night, but of course, this series is not over.

The Pistons now need to close out an experienced, powerful Lakers club playing for its life and still sitting just one win away from moving the series back to their home court.

Detroit will take the court in Game 5 trying to become the first home team to win the three middle games of the Finals since the NBA went to the 2-3-2 format in 1985.  

But LA must climb a bigger mountain:  Out of 27 tries, no team has ever come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the Finals.

"Obviously, we're happy, we thought this was the biggest game of the season and we won it," Billups said. "But we came into that locker room and said, 'We're not done yet.? That team is not going to panic, they've been here before. This is no time to celebrate."

So now we?ll see whether Detroit continues its dominance or whether being on the brink will shift momentum away from the Pistons and change the tone of the series back in LA?s favor.  

"I've been with these guys a long time and I know we won't lie down," O?Neal said.  "We will come and give it all we got.  The stage is set. We have to get a win. The pressure is on them. They have to close us out."