Forgotten man Toni Kukoc turned out to be the difference between a 0-2 deficit and evening up the series against the Detroit Pistons Wednesday, scoring 15 points off the bench in a 92-88 win.

Kukoc, playing in his 93rd playoff game, was 5-of-5 from the field in the second quarter, scoring 10. He also hit a couple big shots in the fourth quarter as Detroit desperately tried to get back into the game, including a big three pointer with nine minutes remaining then a tough fallaway jumper at 6:27 help hold off the Pistons.

"I hit some shots early and that kind of opened the game for me," Kukoc said. "Got active and felt pretty good energy wise. I've been in enough of these games so I do what I can."

"Big minutes," Milwaukee guard Desmond Mason said. "I talked to Toni after the last game and told him, 'We need some of that veteran playoff leadership. You've been in these wars before, man, so you can help us a little bit more.' In practice the last couple days, he's been a little bit more vocal and it's helped our team."