Call it a case of foul play.

Sunday’s Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals wasn’t dominated by Shaquille O’Neal, Dwyane Wade, or Richard Hamilton. Instead, it was dominated by the three-man officiating crew of Dan Crawford, Joe Forte, and Greg Willard, who seemed hell-bent on penalizing even the most minor of infractions. The trio called an incredible 62 fouls in a game that took more than three hours to complete. If the refs had blown their whistles any more often, it would have qualified as a concert.

The Pistons took the brunt of the impact. It’s not that they were penalized far more often – Detroit was whistled for 33 fouls to Miami’s 29 – but rather that a closely officiated game is particularly detrimental to Detroit’s style of play.

For starters, the Pistons’ limited bench makes them less able to withstand a war of attrition. Nets fans might remember this – last season’s triple overtime Game 5 of the conference semifinals saw several players from both sides foul out, and by the end, the Nets clearly had the upper hand. Similarly, the foul trouble that both the Pistons and the Heat experienced on Sunday was much more damaging for the defending champs.

When Miami’s Wade picked up his fifth foul early in the fourth quarter, the Heat were able to shrug off his loss. Sub Rasual Butler made a big 3-pointer and Eddie Jones nailed some key shots as Miami put together a 19-5 run with its star guard on the bench. The Pistons couldn’t muster a similar response when center Ben Wallace had to sit after drawing his fifth foul. Instead, the Pistons were forced to turn to geriatric backup Elden Campbell for key fourth-quarter minutes – the same Elden Campbell the Nets cut two months ago – and he was unable to deliver.

A closely called game also plays into Miami’s hands offensively. With Shaq looking as dominant as he’s been in over a month (24 points, five assists), Detroit’s big men were overwhelmed in the paint. If the refs had ignored some of the banging and bumping, Detroit would have at least had a fighting chance against O’Neal. Instead, Shaq frequently forced the helpless Wallaces into the shadow of the rim.

Wade was brilliant for a second straight game, but he too heard from some friendly whistles, repeatedly getting the benefit of the doubt when there was contact on his way to the basket. For a player like Wade, who greatly prefers driving to the rim to shooting the jumper, the tight officiating was a godsend. Not surprisingly, he finished with 36 points and attempted a staggering 18 free throws.

Based on how much more effective Miami’s two key players are when the game is called tightly, it seems the Pistons simply can’t win if the game is going to be officiated like this. That’s certainly been the case in the past two games.

If we hark back to Game 1, Detroit limited Miami to only 10 foul shots, including just two for Wade. As a result, the Pistons easily kept the Heat offense in check en route to a 90-81 win. Wade was especially ineffective as he settled for jumpers in the second half when he wasn’t getting calls on drives to the rim early on. He finished 7-for-25 from the field, his worst performance of the playoffs.

Game 2 saw the opposite. The Heat amassed 23 free-throw attempts – including 10 by Wade – as they held off the Pistons to even the series. The disparity is even more noticeable when looking at total fouls. The zebras called 24 infractions in Game 1, 49 in Game 2, and a ridiculous 62 in Game 3.

Of course, if you consider the two teams’ season-long trends, it isn’t surprising that the officials are playing such a huge role in this series. On one hand, only Phoenix committed fewer fouls than Detroit in the regular season. The ability of the two Wallaces and Tayshaun Prince to challenge shots without fouling is a huge factor in the Pistons’ dominant defense.

But if Detroit was the immovable object this season, Miami was the irresistible force. Miami was second in the NBA in free-throw attempts and led the league once we adjust for their slow pace (run-and-gun Washington took the most foul shots). Shaq and Wade led the way, combining for nearly 20 attempts a game on the season.

Thus, the free-throw battle was bound to be a crucial element in the Detroit series, and it hasn’t disappointed. What’s amazing is that it’s received so little attention thus far. We’ve heard a lot about how Wade has recovered from his poor outing in Game 1 to dominate the past two contests, but few have pointed out the obvious reason why he’s been so much more successful.

Similarly, the Pistons’ poor performances in Games 2 and 3 were largely a result of their being in foul trouble. While the Pistons were deeply frustrated with the zebras by the end of Game 3, earning two technical fouls in the fourth quarter, most analysts have focused on their loss of composure rather than the cause of it.

Ironically, all three games were remarkably similar. In each, one team took a double-digit lead in the third quarter only to see that lead dissipate before finally putting away the opponent. This has led to much discussion of the fourth-quarter travails of the losing team; meanwhile, the context for those failures remains the pink elephant in the room.

So if you’re looking for an early key in tonight’s Game 4, your ears will help you more than your eyes. If you hear so many short tweets that you momentarily think you’re in the Amazon, then Miami is probably headed to victory. But if all you hear are balls bouncing and sneakers squeaking, then it’s advantage Pistons. As in almost any basketball game, a few men in sneakers will dominate Game 4. The difference in this one is that they’ll be the guys in striped shirts.