NEW YORK, 17 May 2006 — The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons at their own game on Monday, using a smothering defense to win Game Four 74-72 and level their Eastern Conference best-of-seven series at 2-2.
LeBron James had 22 points, nine assists and eight rebounds and made two of four free throws as time ticked down. Game Five is today in Auburn Hills.
In Dallas, Jason Terry scored 32 points as the Mavericks beat the San Antonio Spurs 123-118 in overtime, putting the defending NBA champions on the verge of elimination.
Dallas leads the Western Conference series 3-1, with Game Five in that series back in San Antonio today.
Detroit carried a 59-53 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Cavaliers played some of their best defense of the series and outscored the Pistons 21-13 in the final quarter to steal the win. The Pistons led by as many as seven early in the fourth quarter, but a 12-0 Cleveland run paved the way for the win, with James getting two chances for two free throws with 1:02 left and again with just 1.3 seconds left on the clock.
“Detroit is the best team in the league at shrinking the court and getting the ball out my hands,” James told reporters after the game. “I have to trust my teammates and they stepped up.” After allowing the Pistons to average 105 points in dropping the first two games of the best-of-seven series, the Cavaliers have held the best team in the East to 75.5 points in winning the last two contests.
Detroit shot only 33 percent (25-of-75), including an abysmal four-of-18 in the fourth quarter.
“I know I didn’t play extremely well offensively, but on the defensive end we got it done,” said James, who did contribute nine rebounds, eight assists, two steals and a pair of blocks.
“One thing that is helping us right now is that we don’t feel any pressure — the Pistons feel all the pressure.”
After two relatively easy wins in the opening two games of the series, the Pistons find themselves in a battle against the underdog Cavs.
Rasheed Wallace, who had guaranteed a win for his Pistons, sprained his right ankle and watched the last few minutes from the bench, but was confident despite the loss.
“There’s no way in hell they beat us in a series,” Wallace said.
“They played well. I give them credit. We lost.” Eric Snow had 12 points for the Cavaliers — 10 of them in the second half — and Anderson Varejao added 10 more.
Richard Hamilton scored 30 points to lead the Pistons, but Detroit shot a woeful 33 percent from the field while the Cavaliers shot 43 percent.
Tayshaun Prince added 16 points for Detroit and Chauncey Billups was held to just 11. Ben Wallace hauled down 10 rebounds but scored just one point.
The Cavaliers fly to St. Louis to attend the funeral of Larry Hughes’ 20-year-old brother Justin before going on to Detroit. Hughes has missed the last two games to be with his family.
In Dallas, the Mavericks finally prevailed in a game that was tied 20 times and featured eight lead changes during regulation.
Dirk Nowitzki had 28 points and nine rebounds for the Mavericks, while Jerry Stackhouse added 26.
Tony Parker led the Spurs with a playoff career-high 33 points, but the Spurs still lost despite shooting 53 percent.
Tim Duncan had 31 points, 13 rebounds and six assists for the Spurs, while Manu Ginobili scored 26 points before fouling out.
“He’s one of the best clutch players I’ve ever played with,” said teammate and German wunderkind Dirk Nowitzki, who contributed 28 points and nine rebounds despite a sore right ankle.
“He just doesn’t care what time it is on the clock. He makes those shots.”
