updated 5:21 p.m. ET June 21, 2005

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Larry Brown was sleepless in suburban Detroit.

The Hall of Fame coach said he felt like he was “one step out of the grave,” the morning after the San Antonio Spurs overcame a four-point deficit in the final 1:25 to beat the Pistons 96-95 in overtime, taking a 3-2 lead in the NBA Finals.

“I read a little bit, drove my wife crazy, let the dogs out and got in here kind of early,” Brown said Monday. “I’ll watch the film on the flight to San Antonio, and I already know what that’s going to be like.

“I’m not a good flyer, so one Valium and the film, that’ll get me down to San Antonio.”

The defending champion Pistons are in a familiar position — heading into Game 6 on Tuesday night — and hope to build upon their reputation as a resilient team.

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“We’ve had our backs against the wall before,” Tayshaun Prince said. “You don’t want to be in the situation where it happens too many times, but until this point, we have played great in that situation. Hopefully, we can continue to do that.”

Detroit fell behind Miami 3-2 in the conference finals earlier this month and responded with two wins, including a rare road victory in a Game 7.

Last year, it also rallied from a 3-2 deficit against the two-time defending conference champion New Jersey Nets before moving on to claim its third NBA championship.

The Pistons advanced despite trailing Orlando 3-1 two years ago, with four current starters playing key roles.

FREE VIDEO Big Shot Bob June 20: Spurs coach Greg Popovich, Tim Duncan and Game 5 hero Robert Horry discuss Horry's huge shot and game. NBC Sports

But the current hole they’re in seems deeper than any of the previous ones because to eliminate San Antonio, they have to win twice on the road against what appears to be the best team they’ve played in three years.

“You have to look at it as a great opportunity,” Brown said. “This team has always fought back. It happened to us last year when we had some bumps along the way. I remember Game 5 against New Jersey, losing in triple overtime, I felt the same way I do now.”

Brown’s players didn’t feel much better after losing in heartbreaking fashion against the Spurs.

“It’s obviously tough to put a loss like (Sunday’s) behind you, but we have to respond,” Prince said.

Robert Horry’s game-winning shot — a 3-pointer with 5.8 seconds left — gave the Spurs their first lead in overtime in the final game of the season at The Palace.

“We thought we had it — then he made a big shot,” Richard Hamilton said.

“Now our backs are REALLY against the wall. We’ve got to figure out a way to go to San Antonio and get two wins.”

Detroit has not won at San Antonio since 1997, but its president of basketball operations, Joe Dumars, knows such a streak can end in the NBA Finals.

The Pistons had not won in Portland since 1974 when they played there in the 1990 NBA Finals, then Dumars helped them win three straight for a second title in a row.

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