2004 Pistons & Pacers Combine for 26 Blocked Shots in One Game
26May 24, 2004 - Aside from saving a late-game collapse and validating Rasheed Wallace's pre-game guarantee, Tayshaun Prince's improbably chasedown block of Reggie Miller housed an additional element of context critical to framing the importance of the play itself within the grander scheme of the evening at large: It was the Pistons' 19th block of the game and the 26th block combined, both setting high water marks for the past 40 years of NBA basketball.
Prince's coup de grâce secured a 72-67 Game 2 win, setting the stage for a six-game series win and a trip to the NBA Finals, where the Pistons would go on to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers and earn their third championship in team history.
At the time, there were some segments of ESPN and SportsCenter that claimed that the Pistons & Pacers had set an all-time playoff record for blocks in a single game. However, officially, that mark belongs to the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers, who combined for 29 blocks during their second round series in 1981. That being said, it should be noted that it appears as though at least four of tallied blocks from that contest occurred in the midst of defensive shooting fouls, which would not be recorded as blocked shots under modern scorekeeping.
Bucks-76ers 29 Blocks Highlights: • Bucks & 76ers Combine for NBA Record 29 Bl...
Pistons-Pacers Box Score: https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200405240IND.html
Final Pistons-Pacers Game 2 Block Tally:
Pistons:
Rasheed Wallace - 5
Tayshaun Prince - 4
Ben Wallace - 4
Elden Campbell - 3
Chauncey Billups - 1
Mehmet Okur - 1
Corliss Williamson - 1
Pacers:
Jonathan Bender - 2
Jermaine O'Neal - 1
Jeff Foster - 1
Fred Jones - 1
Jamaal Tinsley - 1