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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The statement sounded so preposterous, it may as well have been dead air for the digital recorders and video cameras that caught it on tape.

"This," Rip Hamilton said, "is the situation we love being in."

There was no smirk to indicate sarcasm and confirm that he indeed was only kidding. Hamilton was dead serious that the Pistons were at peace with the task they faced: to avoid elimination by defeating the two-time defending Eastern Conference champions in their house.

As outrageous as it sounded, a quick look around the locker room backed up Hamilton's claim.

Darvin Ham quietly caught up on some reading. Corliss Williamson's head bounced from side to side as he listened to tunes blaring from his laptop computer.

This is how you get fired up for a possible season-ending Game 6?

"We've been loose all year," Hamilton said. "No need to change now."

"We're at our best when all odds are against us," Chauncey Billups said.

Larry Brown couldn't tell you it was true because he was still coaching the 76ers when the Pistons overcame a 3-1 first-round deficit against Orlando last year. All Brown knew was that a loss on Sunday would leave Detroit well short of its expectations, which were elevated by the trade-deadline acquisition of Rasheed Wallace.

If the circumstances weren't dire enough, the Pistons put themselves in a 13-2 hole in the game's first four minutes -- making Detroit's first-half comeback for a 50-36 halftime lead and second-half escape act for a 81-75 victory all the more amazing.

"This is basketball. We've been doing this all our lives," said Ham, who had his head buried in a book called "Desecration."

"There's really no pressure. Pressure is not knowing how you're going to eat your next meal and being stranded in Iraq. ... We showed a lot of heart, a lot of character our there tonight."

Up by 17 points with 10:24 left in the third quarter, the Pistons could've folded against a New Jersey onslaught that saw Detroit's lead get chopped to 72-70 with 3:57 to play.

What saved the Pistons was -- you guessed it -- their defense. They forced the Nets into a shot clock violation and caused New Jersey to use up all 24 seconds again on their next possession when Kenyon Martin had to attempt a leaning 20-footer underneath Wallace.

Detroit made the big shots in the final two minutes, too. Wallace quieted the crowd of 19,968 with a turnaround jumper for a 75-71 lead with 1:01 remaining. Hamilton then sank a baseline jumper over Jason Kidd with 15.5 seconds left to push Detroit's advantage back to four points. Billups' two free throws with 8.8 seconds on the clock sent everyone packing for one more game Thursday at The Palace in Auburn Hills.

"It's a hell of a win," Brown said. "I gave them a helluva Knute Rockne speech before the game. All we talked about was by the first timeout to try to have a lead, and lo and behold we're down (13-2). But from that point on, I thought we really gutted it out."

The Pistons continued to fight with the specter of Friday's 127-120 triple-overtime loss still hanging over them. But the taller Pistons dominated on the boards 46-31 -- Ben Wallace had 20 -- and dominated the interior, as their frontline forced the Nets into 39.7-percent shooting. Their starting frontcourt of Ben and Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince combined for seven of Detroit's nine blocks, Rasheed recording four.

"It's Game 7. It's one game. It's all or nothing," Billups said. "And we're going home."

Just where the Pistons wanted to be.

Joe Lago is the NBA editor for ESPN.com.