The Washington Bullets showed infinitely more emotion, desire and ability in Game 3 last night
than in the opening two losses of their best-of-five first-round NBA playoff series against Detroit.
Nevertheless, they were eliminated by the Pistons, 97-96, in a frantic finish before an announced
crowd of 10,831 at Capital Centre. 

After a tie-breaking free throw by former Bullet Rick Mahorn with four seconds to play and the
inability of the home team to inbound the ball completed the Detroit sweep, Pistons guard Isiah
Thomas, the series' dominant player, summed up philosophically. 

"They say it was a wise man who said it," reflected Thomas, who with Washington's Frank Johnson
was ejected for scuffling as Mahorn was trying to shoot and being fouled by Charles Jones. "Be
careful what you wish for because you just may get it." 

The all-star guard was referring to the final days of the regular season, when the Bullets said in no
uncertain terms the Pistons were the team they wanted to meet in the first round. 

When the Bullets return to Capital Centre today to say their final goodbyes, perhaps they'll wonder
where their Game 3 intensity was in the opening two games in Detroit, defeats by 106-92 and an
embarrassing 128-85. 

Last night, center Moses Malone led Washington with game highs of 31 points and 16 rebounds.
Forward Adrian Dantley and substitute guard Vinnie Johnson had 21 points each for the winners. 

The game came down to the final 18 seconds with the score tied at 96. Inbounding from midcourt,
the Pistons tried to get the ball to Thomas but, hounded by Frank Johnson, he was unable to receive
a pass. From one side of the floor to the other, the ball eventually wound up in the hands of Mahorn,
who was fouled with four seconds left while attempting an off-balance shot in heavy traffic. 

The call by referee Paul Mihalak went against Jones, who later protested that he wasn't guilty. 

"He bailed a guy out who had no chance of making the shot. I didn't touch him," Jones said. "The
other ref [Jess Kersey] asked me who did he call it on and did I touch him." 

The play was the start of a wild sequence. While Mahorn was shooting, Thomas and Johnson
jostled, then exchanged blows. Both men were ejected after a discussion among the officials and
coaches from both teams. 

"We had a fighting foul on Isiah Thomas and Frank Johnson and ejected both players," said Kersey.
"Paul had a foul on Jones. Mahorn shot two. That was it." 

Not to Washington Coach Kevin Loughery, who after a season of biting his tongue regarding calls
from officials, could take no more. 

"We got beat on a call that was absolutely terrible. They ended the game by calling a foul for a
right-handed player shooting a left-handed fadeaway jumper," he said. "He didn't even know what
he was trying to do." 

When Mahorn finally got to the line, he missed the first shot but converted the second to put Detroit
ahead. The Bullets called a timeout to put the ball at midcourt and then another when forward John
Williams was unable to get off an inbounds pass. 

The second attempt wasn't successful either. Williams tried an inside pass to Moses Malone, but the
ball was deflected away by Detroit center Bill Laimbeer. The first player to reach it was Pistons
guard Joe Dumars, who batted it away as the final seconds ticked off. 

"We were supposed to clear Jeff out around the weak side while Mo was backing in [in the low
post]," said the rookie Williams. "I was supposed to lob it in, but they got a lot of weak-side help
and someone tipped it away." 

Although the Bullets hit 47 percent of their field goal attempts (they were 30-5 during the regular
season when they shot that well), there were long dry spells. The most costly came in the waning
stages. Entering the last 12 minutes of play, Washington trailed, 78-71, but went on an 18-4 run to
move ahead, 89-82, with 6:02 left. 

The spree featured moments that would lead one to believe that someone or something was smiling
on the Bullets. On one play, Moses Malone attempted a behind-the-back dribble against Thomas
but lost the ball in the lane. He recovered, but missed a short layup. The ball was rebounded by
Williams, who scored. That was one of the last loose balls or offensive rebounds to go Washington's
way. 

After Moses Malone made it 89-82, he grabbed a rebound but lost the ball to Thomas, who fed
Mahorn for a dunk. Dantley hit a short jumper and Laimbeer another to make the score 89-88. 

Loughery called a timeout, but his team couldn't recapture its spark. At 90-88, Michael Adams
(who replaced Ennis Whatley in the starting lineup and had eight assists in providing the Bullets with
much of their vigor), stole the ball from Thomas. It was recovered by Jay Vincent, who missed a
swooping layup under pressure by Laimbeer. 

Williams hit the next basket, but then Vinnie Johnson took over, scoring the Pistons' next eight
points. His two free throws with 41 seconds left tied the game at 96 and came after his third
offensive rebound. 

"I think that's something I do pretty well," said the muscular veteran. "I was thinking that going down
the stretch it didn't make sense to just go back on defense, so I decided to go after the ball.
Fortunately, I was able to be in the right place at the right time." 

Loughery said, "We had control of the game but they got eight points on second shots down the
stretch and that hurt us tremendously. That was the key."