Different game, but same result: Cavaliers falter down the stretch

Cleveland missed three possible game-winning shots in the final seconds.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — LeBron James rolled his eyes, slumped his shoulders and looked toward his coaches and teammates.

It was another frustrating night for the Cleveland Cavaliers and their star. James and the Cavs tried to attack the Detroit Pistons differently, but came away with the same result.

Rasheed Wallace scored 10 of his 16 points in the final quarter and made a go-ahead, fadeaway jumper over James on the baseline with 24 seconds left, lifting Detroit to a 79-76 victory and a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

James, who passed up a shot in the final seconds of the series opener, took and missed a spinning shot in the lane with Richard Hamilton draped on him on the ensuing possession.

“We just got to man up in those type of situations,” Hamilton said. “I was just lucky to stay in front of him. LeBron is so big and so strong.”

Larry Hughes grabbed the offensive rebound and missed a shot. Anderson Varejao missed a tip, and after Wallace grabbed the rebound, Cavs coach Mike Brown was called for a technical foul after arguing that James was fouled on his shot attempt.

Game 3 is Sunday night in Cleveland.

Notable

Detroit started 2-0 against the Cavs in the second round last year, but the Cavs responded by winning three straight before losing Game 7 on the road.

James finished with 19 points on 7-of-19 shooting and had seven assists, six turnovers and six blocks. He scored a playoff-low 10 points on 5-of-15 shooting in Game 1.

For the second straight game, he didn’t have much help offensively.

Sasha Pavlovic and reserve Varejao each scored 14, but key players Drew Gooden, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Larry Hughes combined for just 11 points. Rookie Daniel Gibson added a playoff-high nine points.

Hamilton and Chauncey Billups, Detroit’s starting guards, had 13 points apiece and Jason Maxiell provided a boost off the bench with a playoff-high 15.

The Cavs led 50-38 after a dominant second quarter before a lackluster third allowed Detroit to come back.

Cleveland, following a trend of playing poorly right after halftime, had just seven points in the third until making two 3-pointers in the final 39 seconds to take a 63-60 lead into the fourth.

The Pistons seemed to take control with a 14-4 run in the fourth quarter that gave them a 74-69 lead, but Cleveland scored six straight to go back ahead in another ugly, close game.

Detroit won the series opener 79-76.

More aggressive

The Pistons expected James to be much more aggressive Thursday night, and he was.

James went right at the basket the first time Cleveland had the ball and made a layup. A couple of possessions later, he was fouled as he drove into the lane and went to the line after not attempting one free throw Monday night.

Wallace went to the bench with two fouls 31⁄2 minutes into the game and Maxiell made the most of the opportunity to play.

In exactly a minute, he blocked James’ shot, dunked off an offensive rebound and had an alley-oop slam.