AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - With one more win, the Detroit Pistons will be impossible to ignore any longer.

They'll be NBA champions, and even the Los Angeles Lakers will be forced to quit thinking about themselves long enough to appreciate one of the most amazing finals performances in league history.

"We don't care about respect from them, respect from the media, respect from the world," Detroit forward Rasheed Wallace said Monday. "We only care about the dogs in our room and the fans in this building. The rest of y'all can have each other."

Though the Pistons have beaten the Lakers in almost every aspect of every minute of every game while taking a 3-1 lead, this series has been all about L.A. About the infighting, the strategic blunders, the Malone-and-Payton sob stories, the colorful derailment of a burgeoning dynasty.

Detroit has stuck to the workaday, blue-collar image cultivated for its star-free roster. Except for an occasional ankle-breaking crossover dribble by Chauncey Billups, there's been nothing spectacular about the Pistons' game. But it has produced three decisive victories over the star-studded, heavily favored Lakers.

"I sense this team, and what they bring, would be a testimonial of how special our league is, because I think this team tries to play the right way and respects the game and respects one another," said Pistons coach Larry Brown, who's tantalizingly close to his first title after 21 seasons with seven NBA teams.

After seizing control of the series with consecutive home victories, the Pistons can clinch the third title in franchise history with a win in Game 5 tonight. The first two Detroit champions, in 1989 and 1990, both finished their title runs on the road, depriving the fans at The Palace of a firsthand celebration.

To do it, the Pistons must become the first team to win all three home games in the middle of a 2-3-2 series since the NBA moved to the format in 1985. But the Lakers' task is even more daunting: No team has ever recovered from a 3-1 deficit to win the finals.

"We have every intention of winning the game," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "We don't care what the records are about teams that are in this situation in the past. We believe that we can turn this thing around."

But Jackson, in search of his record 10th championship, is one game away from an offseason of tough questions that might even call his inimitable skills into question.

For starters, how could Jackson get so soundly outcoached by Brown, who's been a step ahead for four games? The Pistons haven't altered their Game 1 strategy of one-on-one coverage on Shaquille O'Neal, followed by countless pick-and-roll plays to set up countless open jumpers for Billups and Richard Hamilton.

How could the Lakers consistently fail to get the ball to O'Neal in the low post until Game 4, when he had 36 points and 20 rebounds? And how could Jackson, whose motivational skills are described with religious fervor by his former players, fail to get Kobe Bryant's attention during a miserable series for the superstar?

And how could the championship-tested Lakers fail to match the Pistons' desire?

"I don't think we've really showed how much we want it," said veteran forward Rick Fox, who has campaigned for more playing time. "This means a lot to the guys in here. You know how much it means to Gary and Karl, because they don't have a championship. We've got one game to show how serious we are."

Nobody doubts the Pistons' hunger. Even in their final home practice of the season Monday, they seemed calm and focused - until a goofy 3-point shooting contest at the end, won by the guards and swingmen when Tayshaun Prince banked in a shot from the wing.

In fact, Billups believes Detroit has given inspiration to undertalented teams across the world with its fundamentally sound performance. The Pistons soon could be the first team since the 1979 Seattle SuperSonics to win a title without a superstar.

"You never control how your shots are going to go down, and at what frequency, but you control your effort," said Billups, a likely finals MVP if the Pistons finish things off. "We control our defense. ... We've played this series with a chip on our shoulder."

Even with a 3-1 lead, the Pistons are wary of Bryant and O'Neal, particularly after Shaq's impressive work in Game 4. Detroit realizes Bryant is struggling under Prince's defense and double-coverages, going 22-for-65 in the Lakers' three losses, but Bryant rarely allows any defense to hold him down for long.

And O'Neal still believes a steady diet of low-post play will be just as effective as it was for 3½ quarters in Game 4. Though the Lakers didn't practice Monday, O'Neal showed up at The Palace wearing workout gear and looking deadly serious about his desire to carry the Lakers.

Said O'Neal: "It's simple, and if you don't stick to simplicity, you die a horrible death."