NBA
AP,Cleveland, Ohio
Here's the latest playoff guarantee: The Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers will play a Game 6. And, who knows? Maybe even a 7.
Rasheed Wallace's defiant prediction of a Detroit victory backfired when LeBron James scored 22 points and the Cavaliers beat the Pistons 74-72 to even the second-round series at 2-2 on Monday night.
Following Detroit's loss in Game 3, Wallace had pledged the Pistons would not only win Game 4, but that the Cavaliers would be playing in front of their fans for the last time this season. Well, Cleveland has at least one more at home after winning its second straight over the favored Eastern Conference champs.
With Wallace watching from the bench because of a sprained ankle, James made two free throws -- the last with 1.3 seconds left -- and the Pistons threw away their final inbounds pass to James, who grabbed the ball and punted it into the second deck.
Quicken Loans Arena was electrified from start to finish, and Wallace's boast had a lot to with that. Detroit's mouthy forward was booed every time he touched the ball.
James added nine assists and eight rebounds, narrowly missing his third triple-double of the postseason. Eric Snow had 12 points -- 10 after halftime -- and Anderson Varejao had 10 points and drew a key foul late in the game.
Richard Hamilton scored 30 points and Tayshaun Prince had 16 for the Pistons, who suddenly find themselves in a tense series after dominating at home in Games 1 and 2. The series now shifts to The Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan, for Game 5 today.
Mavericks 123, Spurs 118
The way the Dallas Mavericks are going, every team is going to start using two point guards.
New starter Devin Harris and backcourt incumbent Jason Terry hit big shots in a fourth-quarter rally, then showed off their speed and shooting in overtime, sending the Mavericks into a 3-1 lead in their second-round series.
Dallas has won three in a row since Harris joined the starting lineup. Now the Mavs are one win from making the conference finals for the second time in four years and the third time in franchise history.
The Spurs shook up their lineup for a second straight game, but it wasn't enough. Despite an early surge, the Mavs caught up by halftime and persevered down the stretch of another terrific game in a series that's living up to expectations that have been building since December.
The reigning champions go into Game 5 tonight in a heap of trouble. Since 1997, the Spurs are 0-5 when trailing this deep into a playoff series. They also haven't won an elimination game to keep a series going; the only time they won when facing elimination was Game 7 of last year's finals.
RSS