Cavs Hold Back Rally To Take 2-0 Lead On Pistons

CLEVELAND -- Their late comeback, impressive as it was by guys who hardly play, came up short. The Detroit Pistons have to finish the next one.

Or else.

Trailing by 29 points in the fourth quarter after letting LeBron James toy with them yet again, the Pistons - led by their second unit - cut Cleveland's lead to seven before losing 94-82 on Tuesday night, dropping Detroit into an 0-2 hole in their first-round playoff series.

This is new territory for the Pistons, who have played in six straight Eastern Conference finals.

Getting to No. 7 will take everything they've got.

"It can be done," forward Antonio McDyess said. "The way it's going to be done is we have to play a perfect game."

For three quarters, the Cavaliers were flawless.

James, showing no regard for a defensive plan Detroit coach Michael Curry spent three days designing for him, scored 25 points before sliding into a seat on Cleveland's bench and slipping on his warmups, content to watch his teammates finish off the Pistons in the fourth quarter.

They couldn't without him.

Cavs coach Mike Brown had to reinsert his superstar to restore order down the stretch as the Cavaliers moved within two wins of dispatching the not-what-they-used-to-be Pistons, who will be at home for Game 3 on Friday night at The Palace in Auburn Hills, Mich.

Until the fourth, the Cavs were at their basketball best.

"It was beautiful," Mo Williams said.

The final 12 minutes weren't so pleasing, but James isn't complaining with his team two wins from advancing closer to a first NBA title.

"The first seven quarters of Game 1 and Game 2 were tremendous basketball," he said. "We're not going to let tonight's fourth quarter take away from what we've done so far."

James finished with 29 points and Williams added 21 as the Cavaliers withstood the stirring comeback by the Pistons, who used a 27-5 run to close within seven on McDyess' jumper with 3:51 left.

"We lost our focus," Williams said. "We all knew it. But it's nothing to get overly concerned about. I don't think it will happen again."

Delonte West scored 20 and Zydrunas Ilgauskas 12 for the top-seeded Cavs, who led 79-50 in the first minute of the fourth and were embarrassing the Pistons, who tried everything they could to stop James - double-teams, traps, even a zone - but couldn't.

James added 13 rebounds, six assists and an unforgettable, wind-mill dunk before heading to the bench after three quarters.

But as Cleveland's star was resting up for Game 3, the Pistons' backups - Will Bynum, Arron Afflalo, Amir Johnson, Jason Maxiell and Kwame Brown - got Detroit back in it. They beat Cleveland's bench players to loose balls, and before long, a seemingly insurmountable lead by the Cavaliers was gone.

"Our bench played well," McDyess said. "As far as the starters, we didn't come out and do the job we were assigned to do. It's like they were doing anything they wanted on offense. We weren't giving no resistance to stop them or making it tough on them.

"The positive thing is we try to build from what the bench did in that fourth quarter. We (starters) didn't do anything."

Detroit's bench accounted for 30 of the team's 32 points in the fourth.

Richard Hamilton scored 17, Rodney Stuckey 14 and Bynum 13 for the Pistons.

Despite the win, the Cavaliers, who enjoyed a 43-16 advantage on free-throw attempts, aren't feeling so good. They got just one field goal from their bench and showed a late vulnerability.

"In the fourth quarter, we got comfortable, which we cannot do," James said. "The biggest thing is we got the win, but we know we cannot allow ourselves to not close out a game the right way." Lakers 119, Jazz 109

At Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 26 points, Pau Gasol added 22 and Lamar Odom had 19 off the bench to give the Lakers a 2-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series.

Phil Jackson notched his 195th career postseason victory, the most of any coach in NBA history.

Deron Williams scored a career playoff-high 35 points and Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Jazz, who head home for Game 3 on Thursday. They again played without injured center Mehmet Okur.

Utah lost its 11th in a row at Staples Center, including playoff games. Trail Blazers 107, Rockets 103

At Portland, Ore., Brandon Roy scored 42 points and the Trail Blazers evened the series at one game apiece.

Aaron Brooks led a late charge and finished with 23 points and reserve Von Wafer added 21 for Houston, which has not made it out of the first round since 1997.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 27 points and 12 rebounds for the Blazers, who had never dropped the first two games of a playoff series at home.

Greg Oden's dunk pulled the Blazers into an 89-all tie with 4:45 left before Steve Blake's finger roll put them ahead.

Portland extended the lead to 96-90 after Travis Outlaw hit a jumper and Roy made a falling-down 3-pointer.

The Rockets closed to 104-100 on Brooks' 3-pointer with 6.3 seconds left. After Roy hit a free throw, Brooks made another 3 to make it 105-103 with 1.5 seconds to go.

Rudy Fernandez sealed the win hitting two free throws for Portland.

Game 3 is Friday night in Houston.