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They didn't steal the ball, gather in a single rebound or score a point, but these one-time pals who graduated together from Bloomfield Hills Andover High School in 1988 easily made the biggest save of the game - one that didn't wind up on the scoreboard.

Marcus, a Birmingham resident, and Rosenberg, of Novi, noticed a commotion a couple of sections away from their seats at The Palace of Auburn Hills at virtually the same time.

Fans in that section were screaming for help as a man, identified as Ed Szumowicz, 78, of Davison, slumped over in his chair.

"I had to crawl over two sections of fans to get there," said Marcus, a Livonia pediatrician who practices at Botsford Hospital in Farmington Hills, Huron Valley Hospital in Commerce Township and St. Mary Mercy Hospital in Livonia.

Rosenberg, who practices internal medicine and pediatrics at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, made a similar beeline for the stricken fan, jumping over rows of seats in the lower bowl.

Even though they hadn't seen each other in years, Rosenberg and Marcus immediately went to work.

"All we knew was that we had a man in trouble," Rosenberg said. "He wasn't breathing and didn't have a pulse."

Medical teammates after years apart, Marcus performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and Rosenberg handled the chest compressions.

Their teamwork paid off as Szumowicz regained consciousness and was taken away on a stretcher while giving the crowd a thumbs up.

On Wednesday, Szumowicz was in St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital in Pontiac for tests.

Szumowicz's heart is believed to have stopped, but he reportedly did not suffer a heart attack.

Dr. Kirit Patel, chairman of the department of cardiology at St. Joseph, considered one of the top cardiovascular hospitals in the state, said in a statement the fan suffered a sudden cardiac death.

"Sudden cardiac death is when you have irregular heart beats that are life threatening," Patel said. "You can have cardiac arrest without having a heart attack."

Patel said that often heart attacks and cardiac arrests are seen by the public as the same. Cardiac arrest is when your heart stops, Patel explained adding that it could be caused by a heart attack - when one or more of the arteries in the heart is blocked or for other reasons, such as electrocution, drowning or choking.

Patel said when Marcus couldn't find a pulse, it was an indication the heart had stopped. However, they don't know why this occurred, so Szumowicz will remain in the hospital for testing.

"I had performed CPR in the hospital one time and had performed CPR a couple other times outside of the hospital," Rosenberg said.

Marcus said he learned CPR as a medical student, but had never administered it in real life.

Rosenberg and Marcus both said they never hesitated in rushing to the aid of the fan once they saw he was in trouble.

Once the man was out of danger, the two doctors embraced after not having seen each other for five to 10 years.

Ironically, neither physician is a regular Piston fan at The Palace. Marcus said he got his tickets through what he called a "fluke" and Rosenberg was given the tickets.

However, both doctors hoped the public would learn a lesson from the situation at The Palace.

"We want the public to know that anyone can learn CPR and save a life," Rosenberg said. "It's a very inexpensive course and anyone can do it. You don't have to be a doctor."

Metro editor Allan P. Adler contributed to this story.