CAVS VS. PISTONS News and notes

From celebration to shell shocked: In less than 48 hours, the Cavaliers went from rolling around the floor in joy to walking off the court in disbelief. The Pistons welcomed the Cavs to the second round of the NBA playoffs -- with a collective punch in the mouth. "They put one on us," said guard Damon Jones. "We got our butts kicked," Cavs coach Mike Brown said. By halftime, the Cavaliers trailed by 21. By the end of the third quarter, they were down by 31. At one point, Detroit's lead in the fourth reached a laughable 37. "We were wondering if they were ever going to miss," said Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas. "When they shoot the ball like that it's next to impossible to beat them. They were unbelievable." Perhaps equally astonishing is that the Cavaliers actually played pretty well in the first half. In the second quarter, Cleveland went 12-of-17 (71 percent) from the field, made just one turnover and held its own on the boards. No matter. The Pistons were almost flawless, scoring a club playoff record 43 points in the second period while making 7-of-8 3-pointers. The Cavs could have blamed a lack of sleep, but didn't. After winning Game 6 at Washington late Friday night, they flew back to Ohio early Saturday morning and practiced at Quicken Loans Arena in the afternoon before making the trip to Detroit that night. Even by NBA standards it was a demanding turnaround. The Pistons made it feel worse.
MVP balloting: LeBron James didn't find any satisfaction in being runner-up in the MVP voting. "I don't believe in second," he said. "I don't like second." Cavs center Zydrunas Ilgauskas had his own theory on why James didn't get the nod in his third season as a pro. "Maybe they [media voters] are afraid to give it to him," Ilgauskas said. "Because if you give it to him now, what are you going to do for the next 10 years? You know he's not going to get any worse."
Brick city: If there was one flaw on an otherwise sublime afternoon for the Pistons, it came late in the third quarter with Ben Wallace at the free throw line. Wallace fired up a pair of airballs that weren't even close. The first one was in the vicinity of the rim. The second missed by a few feet. "I'm out there to play defense," said Detroit's hulking center, who is expected to be named the league's top defensive player for the fourth time in five years. "I'm not out there to shoot free throws."
Associated Press