GAME THREAD: NBA: DETROIT (10-3) at CLEVELAND (9-4)

NBA: DETROIT at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">PLAYOFFS

NBA PLAYOFFS
DETROIT 79
CLEVELAND 87 3:01 LEFT, 4TH QTR</div>

 

NBA: DETROIT at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">PLAYOFFS

NBA PLAYOFFS
DETROIT 85
CLEVELAND 88 0:37 LEFT, 4TH QTR</div>

 

NBA: DETROIT at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">PLAYOFFS

NBA PLAYOFFS
DETROIT 87
CLEVELAND 91 FINAL</div>

 

NBA: DETROIT at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">PLAYOFFS

NBA FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
DETROIT 22 21 24 20 87
CLEVELAND 26 24 15 26 91 FINAL

HIGH SCORERS: DET - CHAUNCEY BILLUPS 23, RICHARD HAMILTON
19, TAYSHAUN PRINCE 15
CLE - LEBRON JAMES 25, DANIEL GIBSON 21, DREW
GOODEN 19</div>

 

NBA: DETROIT at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">PLAYOFFS

** CONFIRMED **
NBA
DETROIT 87
CLEVELAND 91 FINAL</div>

 

CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- The Cleveland Cavaliers have made it aseries.

LeBron James scored 25 points, including 13 in the decisivefourth quarter, to lift the Cavaliers to a 91-87 victory overthe Detroit Pistons in Game Four of the Eastern Conferencefinals.

Cleveland rookie Daniel Gibson scored a career-high 21 pointsand Drew Gooden added 19 in the win, which knotted thebest-of-seven series at two games apiece. The series shiftsback to Detroit for Game Five on Thursday.

James was 4-for-6 shooting in the fourth, provided a keyjumpshot to give Cleveland a 87-79 lead with 3:21 to play andsank a pair of free throws to ice the win with four seconds toplay.

Gooden also had a big fourth with seven points and a steal withjust over a minute to play that helped preserve the lead.

Trailing, 77-74, in the fourth, the Cavaliers went on 9-0 whichwas capped on Sasha Pavlovic's layup to make it 83-77 with 5:23to play.

The fourth quarter went far better for Cleveland than the third.

Cleveland's third quarter woes in the series continued as thePistons opened the second half on an 8-0 run to take a 51-50lead. The Cavaliers, who had been outscored 63-43 in the thirdover the first three games of the series, were held scoreless inthe quarter until Zydrunas Ilgauskas hit a free throw at the7-minute mark to tie the game at 51-51.

After Gibson scored six consecutive points to give Cleveland thelead, the Pistons went on their second 8-0 run of the quarterto regain the lead.

Led by Richard Hamilton's nine points, Detroit outscoredCleveland 24-15 in the third and carried a 67-65 advantage intothe fourth.

James was 0-for-6 shooting in the session and has just fivethird-quarter points total during the first four games of theseries. Gibson and Donyell Marshall combined for 14 of theteams 15 points in the third.

While James was the star, Gibson wasn't far behind.

With James taking a breather on the bench in the second quarter,the 21-year-old turned in an impressive individual run, scoringnine consecutive points to lead the Cavaliers to their biggestlead of the game.

The rookie hit a tough fade-away jumper to give the Cavaliers a34-30 lead and in his next trip down the floor hit anotherfade-away from the top of the key while drawing a foul byHamilton. He converted the three-point play to give Cleveland a37-30 lead. The 21-year-old got to the the free-throw linetwice more in the following minutes and went 4-for-4 to give theCavaliers a 41-33 lead.

Back-to-back baskets in the paint from Ilgauskas gave Clevelandits biggest lead of the game at 45-33.

Detroit trailed 50-38 with just over a minute to play in thehalf, but trimmed the lead to seven going into halftime on abucket by Rasheed Wallace and 3-pointer from Lindsey Hunter.

Gibson, who scored 11 points in the first half, has seensignificant playing in the last two games after Larry Hugheswent down with a sprained left foot in the first quarter of theCavaliers' 88-82 win in Game Three.

After receiving an injection of cortizone, Hughes started GameFour but the hobbled guard was limited to just 16 minutes in thegame.

As is often the case, four of James points came viahighlight-reel dunks. The 22-year-old superstar came throughthe paint untouched for a one-handed jam in the first quarterand followed that up in the second quarter with a high-flyingdunk off an alley-oop pass from Gibson.

Chauncey Billups lead the Pistons with 22 points while Hamiltonfinished with 15.

 

NBA: DETROIT at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">PLAYOFFS

DETROIT (87) AT CLEVELAND (91)

DETROIT

REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===

A MCDYESS 23:50 5-9 2-3 3 2 5 3 3 0 0 12
J MAXIELL 11:10 1-2 2-2 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 4
R HAMILTON G 36:55 9-21 1-2 4 4 8 2 3 0 0 19
R WALLACE F 40:33 4-10 1-2 0 5 5 1 4 3 1 9
C DELFINO 2:14 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
C WEBBER C 20:07 1-3 0-2 0 3 3 1 2 2 1 2
T PRINCE F 45:46 4-11 7-8 1 6 7 4 3 1 4 15
L HUNTER 7:25 1-1 0-0 0 1 1 2 3 0 0 3
C BILLUPS G 45:03 6-16 9-10 2 7 9 2 3 1 5 23
R MURRAY 6:57 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0

TOTALS 240:00 31-75 22-29 10 30 40 16 24 7 12 87
(.413) (.759) TEAM REBS: 9 TOTAL TO: 13 (11 PTS)

CLEVELAND

REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===

A VAREJAO 20:02 1-2 0-2 0 2 2 0 4 1 1 2
D GIBSON 35:18 4-7 12-12 0 3 3 2 4 2 4 21
DA JONES 7:38 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 3 0 0 0
Z ILGAUSKAS C 32:46 3-7 3-4 1 6 7 0 2 0 3 9
L HUGHES G 16:25 1-6 0-0 0 2 2 1 1 0 0 2
S PAVLOVIC G 39:56 2-7 0-0 0 3 3 2 3 1 0 5
L JAMES F 44:17 8-19 8-9 0 7 7 11 0 3 3 25
D GOODEN F 31:32 8-14 3-4 1 7 8 0 3 1 1 19
D MARSHALL 11:01 3-5 0-0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 7
E SNOW 1:05 0-0 1-2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1

TOTALS 240:00 30-68 27-33 3 31 34 16 23 8 12 91
(.441) (.818) TEAM REBS: 12 TOTAL TO: 13 (17 PTS)

DETROIT 22 21 24 20 - 87
CLEVELAND 26 24 15 26 - 91

BLOCKED SHOTS: DETROIT - R WALLACE 3, A MCDYESS 2, J MAXIELL. CLEVELAND -
D GOODEN.
3-PT. FIELD GOALS: DETROIT 3-17 (.176), R WALLACE 0-4, C DELFINO 0-
1, T PRINCE 0-2, L HUNTER 1-1, C BILLUPS 2-9. CLEVELAND 4-14 (.286),
D GIBSON 1-4, DA JONES 0-1, S PAVLOVIC 1-2, L JAMES 1-5, D MARSHALL 1-
2.
TECHNICAL FOULS: DETROIT - A MCDYESS, C WEBBER, R WALLACE. CLEVELAND -
S PAVLOVIC, D GOODEN.
FLAGRANT FOULS: NONE.
OFFICIALS: DAN CRAWFORD, JOE FORTE, MIKE CALLAHAN.
A - 20,562. T - 2:46.</div>

 

NBA: DETROIT at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">PLAYOFFS

DETROIT (87)

fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
A McDyess 23:50 5-9 2-3 3-5 3 3 12
J Maxiell 11:10 1-2 2-2 0-1 0 2 4
R Hamilton 36:55 9-21 1-2 4-8 2 3 19
R Wallace 40:33 4-10 1-2 0-5 1 4 9
C Delfino 2:14 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
C Webber 20:07 1-3 0-2 0-3 1 2 2
T Prince 45:46 4-11 7-8 1-7 4 3 15
L Hunter 7:25 1-1 0-0 0-1 2 3 3
C Billups 45:03 6-16 9-10 2-9 2 3 23
R Murray 6:57 0-1 0-0 0-1 1 0 0

______________________________________________________
TOTALS 240:00 31-75 22-29 10-40 16 24 87
______________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.413, FT-.759. 3-Point Goals:
3-17, .176 (R Wallace 0-4, C Delfino 0-1, T
Prince 0-2, L Hunter 1-1, C Billups 2-9).
Team Rebounds: 9. Blocked Shots:6 (R Wallace
3, A McDyess 2, J Maxiell). Turnovers:12 (C
Billups 5, T Prince 4, R Wallace, R Murray, C
Webber). Steals: 7 (R Wallace 3, C Webber 2,
C Billups, T Prince).


CLEVELAND (91)

fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
A Varejao 20:02 1-2 0-2 0-2 0 4 2
D Gibson 35:18 4-7 12-12 0-3 2 4 21
Da Jones 7:38 0-1 0-0 0-1 0 3 0
Z Ilgauskas 32:46 3-7 3-4 1-7 0 2 9
L Hughes 16:25 1-6 0-0 0-2 1 1 2
S Pavlovic 39:56 2-7 0-0 0-3 2 3 5
L James 44:17 8-19 8-9 0-7 11 0 25
D Gooden 31:32 8-14 3-4 1-8 0 3 19
D Marshall 11:01 3-5 0-0 0-0 0 3 7
E Snow 1:05 0-0 1-2 1-1 0 0 1

______________________________________________________
TOTALS 240:00 30-68 27-33 3-34 16 23 91
______________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.441, FT-.818. 3-Point Goals:
4-14, .286 (D Gibson 1-4, Da Jones 0-1, S
Pavlovic 1-2, L James 1-5, D Marshall 1-2).
Team Rebounds: 12. Blocked Shots:1 (D
Gooden). Turnovers:12 (D Gibson 4, Z
Ilgauskas 3, L James 3, D Gooden, A Varejao).
Steals: 8 (L James 3, D Gibson 2, D Gooden, A
Varejao, S Pavlovic).

-------------------------------------------
DETROIT 22 21 24 20 - 87
CLEVELAND 26 24 15 26 - 91
-------------------------------------------

Technical fouls: Detroit - 3 (A McDyess, 3:10
3rd; C Webber, 5:40 3rd; R Wallace, 6:07
4th). Cleveland - 2 (S Pavlovic, 0:13 1st; D
Gooden, 8:08 4th).
Flagrant fouls: None. A: 20,562. T: 2:46.
Officials: Dan Crawford, Joe Forte, Mike
Callahan.</div>

 

CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- The Cleveland Cavaliers have made it aseries.

LeBron James scored 25 points, including 13 in the decisivefourth quarter, to lift the Cavaliers to a 91-87 victory overthe Detroit Pistons in Game Four of the Eastern Conferencefinals.

Cleveland rookie Daniel Gibson scored a career-high 21 pointsand Drew Gooden added 19 in the win, which knotted thebest-of-seven series at two games apiece. The series shiftsback to Detroit for Game Five on Thursday.

"I live for the fourth quarter," James said. "I love the fourthquarter, especially when the game is tight. And I told myteammates, just get me to the fourth and it's close, and I'lltry my best to win the game and I was able to do that."

James was 4-for-6 shooting in the fourth, provided a key jumpshot to give Cleveland a 87-79 lead with 3:21 to play and sank apair of free throws to ice the win with four seconds to play.

Gooden also had a big fourth with seven points and a steal withjust over a minute to play that helped preserve the lead.

Trailing, 77-74, in the fourth, the Cavaliers went on a 9-0 runwhich was capped by Sasha Pavlovic's layup to make it 83-77 with5:23 to play.

"I remember hearing David Wesley telling (James) a lot of timewhen you hear your teammates tell you this, it kicks insometimes better - but I remember David saying to LeBron at theend of the third quarter, 'Somebody needs to get in the paint,'"Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "And I thought I heard LeBronsay, 'Okay,' and from that point on he was aggressively drivingthe basketball, and when he did that, they collapsed and hemade the right pass."

A quarter earlier, it looked as if the Cavaliers may be on theirway to a third loss in the series.

Cleveland's third quarter woes in the series continued as thePistons opened the second half on an 8-0 run to take a 51-50lead. The Cavaliers, who had been outscored 63-43 in the thirdover the first three games of the series, were held scoreless inthe quarter until Zydrunas Ilgauskas hit a free throw at the7-minute mark to tie the game at 51-51.

"I don't think it's the norm for us. The only thing we can dois keep going through the experience of it and hope that wedon't get hammered bad enough to lose a ballgame in that thirdquarter," Brown said.

After Gibson scored six consecutive points to give Cleveland thelead, the Pistons went on their second 8-0 run of the quarterto regain the lead.

Led by Richard Hamilton's nine points, Detroit outscoredCleveland 24-15 in the third and carried a 67-65 advantage intothe fourth.

"We have top clean up that third quarter," James said. "Good inthe fourth, but that third quarter is going to catch up to ussooner of later."

James was 0-for-6 shooting in the session and has just fivethird-quarter points total during the first four games of theseries. Gibson and Donyell Marshall combined for 14 of theteams 15 points in the third.

While James was the star, Gibson wasn't far behind.

With James taking a breather on the bench in the second quarter,the 21-year-old turned in an impressive individual run, scoringnine consecutive points to lead the Cavaliers to their biggestlead of the game.

"Daniel is much better than just shooting an outside shot, whichI told you guys after Game Three," James said. "I just knowtalent. I told you guys about Sasha and I told you guys aboutDaniel. I should be a GM someday, I guess."

The rookie hit a tough fade-away jumper to give the Cavaliers a34-30 lead and in his next trip down the floor hit anotherfade-away from the top of the key while drawing a foul byHamilton. He converted the three-point play to give Cleveland a37-30 lead. The 21-year-old got to the the free-throw linetwice more in the following minutes and went 4-for-4 to give theCavaliers a 41-33 lead.

"When you have a guy like (LeBron James), you play with so muchcomfort and you're so much more relaxed on the floor because youknow what he's capable of doing at any given time," Gibsonsaid.

Back-to-back baskets in the paint from Ilgauskas gave Clevelandits biggest lead of the game at 45-33.

Detroit trailed 50-38 with just over a minute to play in thehalf, but trimmed the lead to seven going into halftime on abucket by Rasheed Wallace and 3-pointer from Lindsey Hunter.

Wallace picked up his fifth technical foul of the postseasonwhen he threw his headband in the fourth quarter. If a playerreceives seven technical fouls in the playoffs, he isautomatically suspended for the next game.

"He was upset with Rip. His headband toss was more out offrustration at his teammate. That's why I thought it was aterrible call as far as at that time of the game," Detroit coachFlip Saunders said.

Gibson, who scored 11 points in the first half, has seensignificant playing in the last two games after Larry Hugheswent down with a sprained left foot in the first quarter of theCavaliers' 88-82 win in Game Three.

After receiving an injection of cortizone, Hughes started GameFour but the hobbled guard was limited to just 16 minutes in thegame.

As is often the case, four of James' points came viahighlight-reel dunks. The 22-year-old superstar came throughthe paint untouched for a one-handed jam in the first quarterand followed that up in the second quarter with a high-flyingdunk off an alley-oop pass from Gibson.

James also contributed a game-high 11 assists.

Chauncey Billups lead the Pistons with 22 points while Hamiltonfinished with 15. That duo was held to just 20 points combinedin Game Three's loss.

Billups said the Pistons, who beat Cleveland in the conferencesemifinals a year ago after failing behind three-games-to-two,aren't going to let this game affect them going forward.

"That's the good thing about our group. No matter if we lose,we still feel like we can get it done," Billups said.