Pistons become NBA champions

Ben Wallace notched 18 points and 22 rebounds to help the Detroit Pistons crush the Los Angeles Lakers 100-87 today to claim the NBA championship and end one of the great dynasties in the competition's history.

Showing attacking flair to go along with their trademark gritty defense, the Pistons completed one of the biggest upsets in the NBA finals to lift their first title since 1990 with a startling dissection of the heavily-favored Lakers.

With three titles in the last four years and a roster stocked with All-Stars and future Hall of Famers, the swashbuckling Lakers arrived at the finals expecting to add to the franchise's glorious legacy.

But the Pistons, who rely on teamwork over glitz and glamor, utterly dominated the Lakers to win the best-of-seven finals 4-1 and return the title to the Eastern Conference for the first time since 1998.

The Detroit victory earned their Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown the first NBA title in his 21-year career while denying his LA counterpart Phil Jackson a record 10th championship ring.

It also gave Detroit's reclusive billionaire owner Bill Davidson his second championship in as many weeks, adding the Larry O'Brien trophy to the Stanley Cup his Tampa Bay Lightning picked up last Monday.

"This is a great night and the guys did a tremendous job," said the 81-year-old Davidson over the deafening cheers.

While it was the Pistons's crippling defence that carried them to the title, it was the team's offensive guard Chauncey Billups who walked away with Most Valuable Player honors.