It was billed as LeBron vs Tim Duncan but this NBA Finals evolved into the Tony Parker coming out party. The 25 year-old point guard for the Spurs was utterly brilliant in helping lead his team to a sweep of the overmatched Cavaliers- finishing it off in style with 24 points on an efficient 10-of-14 from the floor as his team held on for an 83-82 Game Four victory before a disappointed capacity crowd at Quicken Loans Arena.

The soon to be future Mr. Eva Longoria had a terrific last week, averaging 24.5 points and shot 57 percent for the entire series to become the first player from Europe to take home the Finals MVP trophy. It was very deserving for the often overlooked guard who terrorized opponents this Spring with his frenetic drives to the basket and clutch play.

The former 2001 28th overall selection finally got out of superstar teammate Tim Duncan’s shadow with a splendid postseason which culminated in the Spurs’ third NBA title in six years and fourth overall in the past nine. Oddly enough, all four have come in odd years with the first coming in 1999. The last three have come in 2003, 2005 and now 2007. So does that not bode well for a possible repeat next year? We’ll have to wait and see.

For now, a jubilant Parker was at a loss for words about how much it meant:

“This is like a dream. I don’t want to wake up,” he said after wiping away tears.

You have to start putting the Spurs in that modern day dynasty category now. Four titles in nine years is impressive enough in any era. Especially in a cap era where more players change jerseys and it makes it even harder to keep your nucleus intact. Regarding his team’s place in history, Parker remarked:

“I don’t care where we fall in history. I just feel blessed, honored and privileged to play on a team like this.“

And really, that’s all that matters. He and valuable sixth man Manu Ginobili have teamed up with the NBA’s premier power forward to win three more championships this decade. They have bought into coach Gregg Popovich’s defensive team oriented brand of basketball. Some have unfairly labeled their style as “bland or boring.” What’s so bad about playing the game hard at both ends and getting rewarded for your commitment?

In the end, winning is all that matters. Just look what Duncan had to say:

“It never gets old, it never gets old. Unbelievable. Such a great run, a great journey, a great bunch of guys.”

So where does his fourth title rank?

“This one’s sweeter. The road that we took to get here was as tough as we ever had it. Guys persevered, we had great performances from one to 12.”

The quiet stoic superstar who never loses focus is so modest. His team was very impressive during this run. And it started in similar fashion to how championship No.3 resulted. By dropping Game One at home to Denver before coming back to take four straight in impressive fashion, even reducing Carmelo Anthony to near tears after going up 3-1.

Maybe their only real challenge came from the offensive minded Suns. Many will still point to the Game Five suspensions of Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw for why the Spurs were able to prevail in six but who really thinks a team that doesn’t play enough defense would’ve beaten them?

What separates the Spurs is their intensity on the other side of the floor. They lock in defensively and make it extremely difficult on opponents. In the second round win over Phoenix, they bruised and battered Steve Nash wearing the two-time league MVP down. He still put up good numbers but really had to work for it.

The younger Jazz were no match in the Conference Finals for an experienced bunch who reduced Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko to non-factors in another five game conquest. Despite a brilliant series from second-year guard Deron Williams and solid numbers from Carlos Boozer, it wasn’t enough to offset the balance of Duncan, Parker and Ginobili who torched Utah.

If they made the Jazz look ordinary, then they dismantled the inexperienced Cavs in the Finals. The only player on their roster with Finals experience was backup guard Eric Snow. It really showed in this series. The Spurs hammered the Cavs in the first two games with extraordinary play from their dynamic trio. With Parker and Ginobili slicing and dicing Cleveland and Duncan doing his thing down low, LeBron didn’t have enough support to threaten them. That was a series theme.

The Spurs’ perimeter D forced sharpshooter Daniel Gibson into many misses from downtown. The rookie who took apart the Pistons was never allowed to get into a comfort zone often looking rushed. That was bad news for the Cavs because he was the only reliable outside threat they had. Sasha Pavlovic had several open looks but couldn’t make San Antonio pay for doubling and sometimes tripling LeBron.

Though the Cavs were competitive in their two home games with a chance at the end, they just weren’t able to execute in the halfcourt. In their Game Three 75-72 defeat, even their young superstar couldn’t save them. Though James was probably fouled by Bruce Bowen on his desperation three-point attempt from 28, it was likely before the shot meaning two free throws with seconds to spare. It probably wouldn’t have been enough time to pull out an unlikely victory.

So how did James perform? He still wound up with respectable numbers (22.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 6.8 APG) but shot only 36 percent and turned the ball over 23 times. In Game Four, he went 10-for-30 even though he finished with 24. The versatile forward also handed out 10 assists and added six rebounds but did have six turnovers as well summarizing how frustrating a series it was.

The bottom line here was he didn’t have enough help. Drew Gooden performed admirably but nobody else really stepped up. Not having that second star to take some pressure off LeBron’s back definitely hurt. Hopefully, the Cavs are able to deliver that so they aren’t so uncompetitive the next time they reach a Final.

Just how sad was this series? There’s little doubt that they got killed in the ratings by The Sopranos season finale last Sunday. But overall, this might’ve been the low point for the NBA because that’s how bad it was. The Cavs never held a halftime lead and didn’t really give you the sense they could win. The scores were so lowscoring in Cleveland that at times, it was unwatchable. In fact, their 322 points was the lowest total for four games.
Even when the Cavs showed you a little something by starting out the fourth quarter last night with an 11-0 run to take a three-point lead, the more experienced Spurs never panicked down the stretch getting some clutch scoring from Ginobili, who scored 13 of his game high 27 in the final 12 minutes of the season. He dropped in a dagger from downtown from the left side of the key which pretty much finished Cleveland.

With another ring, Mr. Big Shot Robert Horry won his seventh title. He also won two with Houston, three with the Lakers and got his second with the Spurs Thursday night. He truly is blessed.

Parker dedicated the victory to teammate Michael Finley. The 34 year-old veteran shooting guard joined San Antonio last year after playing his first 10 seasons with Phoenix and Dallas. He finally is a champion which is nice to see.

The Spurs finished the postseason with an impressive 16-6 mark. In fact, their .727 winning percentage is the highest in Finals history. Not too shabby.

With four NBA crowns, Popovich trails just Red Auerbach (9), Phil Jackson (9), John Kundla (5) and Pat Riley (5) for the most in NBA history. Not a bad list to be a part of!

And so, that concludes this NBA playoffs. It wasn’t a great one but we’ll still remember LeBron’s heroic Game 5 performance at Detroit in which he carried his team to a double overtime victory by scoring the final 25 and 29 of the last 30.

It might not have been a kind Finals experience for the young superstar but he’ll learn from it and only get better which is a scary prospect for the rest of the league.

We’ll see you all this Fall!

Rookie Daniel Gibson poured 25 of his career high 31 in a splendid second half including a perfect five-of-five from downtown to help LeBron James (20, 14 and and Co. take their fourth straight from the Pistons to win the Eastern Conference.

We’ll have much more later today on the Cavs’ 98-82 Game Six home win in front of a pumped up crowd to make their first ever NBA Finals where the three-time champion Spurs await.

It’s a day later and the Cavaliers have a lot to be proud about. The way they cameback and defeated a veteran-laden Detroit club who had been through the playoff grind and pulled out an exact series like this last year. But this time, the younger Cavs didn’t allow the Pistons to come into their house and force a deciding Game 7 at the Palace.

Maybe last year’s experience of losing a hard fought seven-game series to them helped LeBron and teammates in closing this year’s ECF out to win the conference for the first time in franchise history. Also having a chance to reach the NBA Finals gave them plenty of extra incentive to deliver for their fans who have waited patiently. They went through some tough years before LeBron was delivered to them. And after having their hearts broken by Michael Jordan and the Bulls, it had to be especially hardening.

Between the Cavs, Indians and Browns, the city of Cleveland hasn’t seen a team win a championship in 43 years when the Browns won the NFL title back in 1964. The Indians came close to finally winning their first World Series since 1948 twice a decade prior but fell to Atlanta in 1995 and Florida two years later. Hopefully, their NBA team can go one better and pull a huge upset.
Now, their team gets a shot at the NBA’s best in San Antonio. A team who will be aiming for their fourth NBA title and third in six years with the terrific trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. A modern day dynasty in the making if Gregg Popovich’s club can win another.
The good news for Mike Brown’s Cavs is that they’ll have a few days to prepare for Game One which is set for Thursday night in San Antonio at 9 ET/6 PT on ABC. This will give the ex-assistant under Popovich some time to prepare his team for San Antonio’s defensive oriented halfcourt game. What should be most encouraging is they just got through a similar team. The only difference is the Spurs don’t just go through the motions during stretches of games. So the task should prove to be much more difficult.

What they’ll take with them is what NBA legend and 11-time champion and Hall of Famer Bill Russell said to LeBron as he presented them with the Eastern Conference trophy:

“You’re not only representing the city of Cleveland but also the Eastern Conference. Make me proud”

And like Brown told TNT’s Ernie Johnson during the on-court postgame celebration, “We’re in it to win it.”

If they can’t draw motivation from that to give the Spurs all they can handle, then San Antonio’s just too good. We’ll see. One interesting note is that the Cavs swept their worthy opponents during the regular season series. Not that that means anything now because the Spurs know how to turn it up and have looked like a well oiled machine in dispatching of the Nuggets in 5, Suns in 6 and Jazz in 5. They’ll take a 12-4 record into this match-up while the Cavaliers got here by sweeping the Wizards and beating the Nets and Pistons in 6 to post a 12-5 mark.

So can Cleveland do better than our five-game San Antonio prediction? Why the heck not? We’ve gotten everything else wrong.

How was I supposed to know that Dallas would roll over against Golden State? At least the Pistons got to the Conference Finals. I also had the Cavs losing to Toronto in the Conference Semis. They would’ve had to have gotten there in order for that to have happened. I’ll bet the Pistons wish they did.

The one thing the Cavs have which should help in this match-up is size. The trio of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Drew Gooden and Anderson Varejao all are formidable inside and can crash the glass. Combine that with the versatile 22 year-old superstar James and they have enough athleticism to counter Duncan and Fabricio Oberto underneath.

The time off should help guard Larry Hughes recover from his injury. He was more effective Saturday night playing 28 minutes and scoring nine including two open treys along with four assists and three rebounds. Expect him to draw the tough assignment of the ultra quick Parker.

Obviously, they’ll be looking for their emerging rookie Gibson to continue his clutch shooting which destroyed the Pistons. The ex-Texas standout who was selected in last year’s second round scored 19 of Cleveland’s 31 in the final quarter as they outscored Detroit by 15 to put a close game away.

All five of his three’s were wide open due to Detroit predictably giving all sorts of attention to LeBron after his Game 5 heroics. This left Gibson and other teammates wide open and also opened up the lane where he went 12-for-15 to go with a crisp seven-of-nine from the floor.

Meanwhile, James who only attempted two field goals in the first half (career playoff low) was still able to get to the rim and even converted a driving layup in transition as part of a three-point play during the Cavs’ fourth quarter run when they put it away. He only made three buckets but got to the line 19 times converting on 14 of them for 20 points. Adding a game high 14 boards and eight assists plus three steals, it was plenty on what was a special night.

James’ reaction:

“This is like a dream. This is probably the best feeling that I’ve ever had in my life. … This is the best thing that ever happened to me, man. But look here, look here. It doesn’t stop.”

With a wide eyed ear to ear grin, who could blame him? He took a lot of heat early in the series for passing up a potential winning shot in Game 1 and not scoring enough in Game 2. But the superstar never let the frustration show instead opting to say that they were a “no excuse team” after not getting a late call which made it identical 79-76 defeats. Instead, he rose up for a big 32 in Game 3 and continued to dominate the way a player of his calibre should meeting every challenge. Nobody will ever forget that unbelievable Game 5 performance in which he carried his team on his back scoring an NBA playoff record 25 straight and 29 of the final 30 to pull out that game in two overtimes. It was truly a special game by a star who wanted it badly.

As it turned out, that was the one which broke Detroit’s back. Sure. They were right there for three quarters in Game Six. But you just never got the feeling they’d ever get that game against an inspired Cavs’ team in that environment. Gibson would allow it and neither would all those screaming fans.

As was said here in this space last week and repeated again last night by Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Reggie Miller, the Pistons were outplayed the whole series and very easily could’ve been swept. They were beaten by a younger and hungrier team. End of story.

Chauncey Billups struggled throughout this series. Despite making a few big shots late in games, the former 2004 Finals MVP never got into a rhythm. This was due in large part to Hughes and an aggressive Cleveland D which made it difficult for the Pistons’ floor leader to get to the basket. Maybe it was fitting that in 43 minutes, the guard whose status is up in the air this summer only scored nine points on just seven shots and handed out one assist. That’s how tough this series was on him.

The only player who really showed up last night was Richard Hamilton, who finished with 29 on an efficient 10-of-20 from the field and a perfect eight-for-eight from the charity stripe. The ex-Uconn star also added four rebounds, three assists and three steals doing a little bit of everything to keep his team competitive in 36 minutes.

Ticking time bomb Rasheed Wallace finally lost it midway through the fourth quarter after fouling out. The always emotional big man finally snapped and got t’d up twice and ejected. It was a symbol of Detroit’s frustration. It was two games earlier where he took off his No.36 jersey and tossed it over his head in disgust accidentally landing in someone’s face like a towel after Cleveland had rallied to tie the series at two apiece.

Wallace definitely cares. But too often he allows the officials’ calls to get to him and it sometimes takes a very talented player out of the game. Eleven points, two rebounds and two assists in 30 minutes wasn’t enough from the center who also may or may not return to Detroit.

The Cavs became only the third team to rally from an 0-2 deficit to win a series in the Conference Finals joining the 1971 Baltimore Bullets and 1993 Chicago Bulls, who both accomplished it against the Knicks.

They’ll now try to deliver the first ever NBA championship to Cleveland. Best of luck!

LeBron James gave one of the all-time great playoff performances in carrying his Cavs to a 109-107 double overtime Game 5 win over Detroit at the Palace. He scored 29 of his playoff career high 48 in the fourth quarter and two overtimes to make it three straight for Cleveland- putting them just one victory away from their first ever NBA Finals where San Antonio awaits.

King James was a man possessed. With his team’s back to the wall after a Detroit 10-0 run halfway through the fourth quarter, the fourth-year superstar just took over. From the time Detroit led 88-81, the 22 year-old scored every single way possible to put his team in position to win in regulation. This included a three from the top of the key and a go-ahead jam to finish off an 8-0 run with under a minute left.

But with the Cavs up one, Chauncey Billups quickly answered with a stepback trey from the right side of the key to put Detroit back up 91-89. With his team once again needing a big bucket, an aggressive LeBron delivered by beating a double which didn’t come quick enough and slamming another home with under six seconds to go. Detroit called time to setup a potential winner. But Billups’ trey just missed at the buzzer forcing OT.

Finally in a rhythm after at one point being just 7-for-19, James was unbelievable in the overtimes scoring all 18 of his team’s points. Early in the first OT, he put Cleveland up four with a backdoor lay-in and a very difficult stepback inside the circle.

Another LeBron jam which gave the Cavs the lead certainly drew plenty of remarks from the TNT trio of Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Reggie Miller about Detroit’s failure to double earlier. When James made another difficult stepback to put his team up four, it looked over. But the Pistons were able to hang in on experience.

First, Rasheed Wallace drew a foul and made both free throws to cut it to two with 30 seconds left. After a rare LeBron miss, Detroit called time with under six left. Out of it, Billups drove the lane and drew a foul with 3.1 to go. Mr. Big Shot calmly made both free throws to somehow force a second OT.

One of the reasons James was forced to take all the shots was that his other options were fouling out. Daniel Gibson (11) fouled out in the first OT. And Drew Gooden, who had a strong Game 4 was a nonfactor finishing with just seven and also fouling out.

It left James to basically fend for himself. A couple of the shots he hit which answered big Detroit baskets to tie it were unreal. After the Pistons went ahead, he dribbled behind his back and then drained a difficult long jumper over Billups. But when Chris Webber came right back with a three-point play ending second leading scorer Zydrunas Ilgauskas’  (16) night, one had to figure James’ magic act was out of tricks.

Wrong! The next possession, LeBron dribbled away from a double team and hit a ridiculous trey to tie it at 107. Biggest shot of the night. If he doesn’t score there, maybe that’s it. But he did.

The next Detroit possession, they went into Wallace, who forced a quick turnaround from the left baseline which fell short. He felt he was fouled by Anderson Varejao, who defended it well. Was there some contact? Replays seemed to indicate so. However, it wasn’t a great look. You have to question why the Pistons went so quickly there with a five second differential.

Everyone knew who would get the ball when Cleveland called timeout. What was mindboggling was Detroit’s continued strategy of not being aggressive enough. Like Barkley, Smith and even guest TBS baseball analyst and Cooperstown-bound Tony Gwynn said:

“Get the ball out of his hands.”

Instead, they waited too long and allowed LeBron to sneak a clear view at the basket. By the time the double came, it was too late as the star was already in his move and double pumped before laying the winner home softly off the glass with only 2.2 ticks left stunning the Detroit capacity crowd.

After their final timeout, Billups got a great look but his runner in the lane was partially deflected by Varejao to push it just off the rim at the buzzer sending the entire excited Cleveland bench over to LeBron under the basket to congratulate him on what can be summed up as a Jordan-esque performance.

It was that special. Just how remarkable was he. He scored his team’s final 25 points and 29 of their last 30 making 11 of his final 14 field goals. This is what LeBron was advertised as when he came out of high school a few years ago. Billed as the NEXT ONE, he’s had plenty of criticism come his way for not taking over games such as this. Tonight, that all changed. He put his teammates on his back and changed how he’ll be viewed.

Along with his clutch 48, the versatile star finished with nine rebounds, seven assists and two steals. In an incredible 50 minutes, he finished 18-for-33 from the field including two money treys (2-of-3) in crunch time and converted 10-of-14 from the charity stripe.

This game will be remembered for a long time. Especially if Cleveland wraps this series up Saturday night at home and advances to its first NBA Finals.

For Detroit, it was a crushing defeat. They let it slip away. Part of that was the Cavs’ resiliency. There were times in the third quarter where it looked like they were going to pull away. But everytime, either LeBron or another Cav made a big shot to prevent it. The way Cleveland finished the third quarter which was their first good one of the series and first probably since sweeping Washington (they outscored Detroit 19-18), they had to feel extremely confident about stealing this game. A Gibson trey with a second left in the quarter tied it at 70.

Just how confident was Mike Brown. He allowed his superstar to get some valuable rest in the first three minutes of the fourth. Something which Steve Kerr made reference to during OT because LeBron “looked very fresh.”

Kerr has always been a very good analyst. And as usual, he nailed it here.

After the game, here was what Flip Saunders had to say about his team’s defense on LeBron:

“We tried to trap him and get it out of his hands, but he attacked. We’ll definitely have to do something different next time.“

Saunders definitely should change something because his team allowed LeBron to get too many clear paths to the basket. Once he picks up a full head of steam, it’s over.

Part of that strategy may or may not include key backup center Antonio McDyess. The valuable big was assessed a flagrant II foul in the opening quarter and automatically ejected for a hard foul on Varejao. His loss was definitely felt late. While he might not be the scorer he once was, the ex-Nugget is a presence in the middle and can alter shots. You have to figure he’d have been in the game defending the basket with Wallace instead of Jason Maxiell who got burned a couple of times.

It changes the strategy completely. So will he get suspended for Game 6? Detroit better hope not.

The Pistons had all five starters get double digits but it didn’t matter because of James’ heroics. Billups finished with 21 while Rip Hamilton paced them with 26 including a perfect 12-of-12 from the line along with a couple of big baskets in the second OT. They also got a big game from Webber, who finished with 20 and seven on 9-of-13 shooting. Wallace didn’t shoot the ball well but added 17, eight and two blocks. And Prince, who defended LeBron most of the game scored all of his 10 in the third quarter.

For Cleveland, Larry Hughes played through pain but hit for two treys and scored nine in 29 gritty minutes. Varejao added nine, three boards, two steals and two blocks.

You have to figure that James will get much more help next game in a potential closeout at home. Those fans should be extremely pumped up. But what they must remember is that Detroit will never quit. The Pistons are experienced enough to go on the road and win and have done it before in these pressure situations. LeBron and the Cavs experienced it last year when the Pistons backed up Rasheed’s guarantee winning in Cleveland before blowing the doors off them in Game 7 to advance to the ECF.

After a similar gutwrenching defeat to the Nets in an epic Game 5 which needed three OT’s to decide, the Pistons managed to bounceback and win at the Meadowlands before blowing the Nets out of the building in another Game 7 to advance to the NBA Finals.

They won’t panic. The question is is it too late as Barkley, Smith and Miller asserted earlier? We’ll find out Saturday.

For the second straight home game, LeBron James, Daniel Gibson and Co. got it done in crunch time as the Cavaliers defeated the Pistons 91-87 in Game Four to even their best-of-seven Eastern Conference Final series at two apiece- setting up a pivotal Game Five at The Palace on Thursday night.

After struggling yet again in the third quarter where they were outscored by nine to erase a seven-point halftime lead, the Cavs stepped up their play for the second straight game in the final quarter by outscoring Detroit 26-20 to level the series.

In particular, James turned it up. Coming off a strong fourth quarter in which he made very difficult shots to get his team an 88-82 victory in Game 3, the superstar had another big finish to help turn the tide in his team’s favor.

LeBron scored 13 of his game high 25 in the final 12 minutes. A three-point play by the 22 year-old star helped key a 13-4 run. An integral part of that run was power forward Drew Gooden, who twice knocked down wide open baseline jumpers from opposite ends on his way to a solid 19 point, eight rebound performance on 8-of-14 shooting.

James capped off the run by making a very tough step back jumper just inside the circle over Tayshaun Prince to put his team up 87-79 with 3:21 left. It was almost an identical big shot to the one he made in Game 3 down the stretch.

But the Pistons never gave up and were able to make things interesting down the stretch by scoring six of the next seven to slice it to three. A key play would then come. After a Rasheed Wallace block and steal, Chauncey Billups rushed an off balance three which didn’t go. The normally unflappable Piston point guard panicked. Instead of resetting for a good shot, he forced the issue and settled with plenty of time left.

It was part of a forgettable final few minutes for Billups who also had an uncharacteristic turnover with his team down four and under 60 seconds to go. Though the guard scored better in this one pacing his team with 23 (6-of-16 FG, 9-of-10 FT), he didn’t finish well and turned the ball over five times and only had two assists. Billups was also a dreadful 2-for-9 from downtown.

With his team down four late, he also wasted too much time circling around in the lane before Antonio McDyess’ tip-in which cut it to 89-87 with 4.7 seconds left. The one-time Knick came off the bench for 12 points, five rebounds, two blocks and three assists in 23 productive minutes.

They quickly fouled James. In the past, he has been questioned for not stepping up and making the clutch free throws. This time, after Richard Hamilton tried his best imitation of LeBron on Gilbert Arenas last year, the Cav calmly swished both to salt the game away. It completed a five-for-five performance from the charity stripe in the deciding quarter.

After a brilliant Game 3 in which he had 32 points, nine boards and nine assists, LeBron finished with 25 on 8-of-19 from the field including 8-for-9 from the line. He also added seven rebounds, three steals and dropped a game high 11 assists in a huge 44 minutes.

You definitely have to give him plenty of credit. After how he was questioned after the first two games and of course not having the call go his way at the end of a tight Game 2, LeBron has stepped up his game and played like the best player on the floor to take both home games and knot the series up turning it into a best-of-three situation with Games 5 and 7 in Detroit.

Though he felt he got fouled by Hamilton in Game 2, afterwards during the postgame interview, LeBron said his team was a “no-excuse team.”

By focusing on the next two games and taking the right attitude, he has delivered along with his teammates. Speaking of which, how about the play of rookie guard Daniel Gibson. All the second round pick out of Texas did was deliver a career high 21 including a perfect 12-for-12 from the line in 35 big minutes. He only made four of seven field goals including one trey but he took the ball hard to the lane and drew fouls. Something Prince told TNT’s Craig Sager shouldn’t have happened. That maybe they “didn’t respect him enough.”

Gibson’s big game was needed because starter Larry Hughes was playing through a partial tear of the plantar fascia. To the struggling guard’s credit, he gutted out 16 minutes making the first shot of the game on a turnaround jumper in the lane. It was his only basket.

This game was really about the trio of LeBron, Gibson and Gooden who combined for 65 of their team’s 91 points. They were the only three Cavs to get double digits.

Donyell Marshall also came off the bench to score seven.

For Detroit, it’s back to the drawing board. While they did get better games out of guards Billups and Hamilton (19 pts on 9-of-21 FG), they still looked a little out of synch. As Charles Barkley pointed out, the Pistons easily could’ve been swept already in this series because Cleveland has really outplayed them in all four games. They won the first two on experience at home but didn’t come up with the goods when it mattered on the road.

And you also saw some frustration from Rasheed Wallace who picked up his fifth technical of the playoffs by tossing his headband. Two more would mean an automatic one-game suspension. The emotional big man also took off his jersey headed back to the locker room and flung it over his head landing comically on someone’s head walking in the same direction.

Got to love Rasheed. He’ll need a better Game 5 after only getting nine points, five boards and misfired on all four three’s.
The Pistons also got next to nothing from Chris Webber. One basket, three rebounds and one assist along with two missed free throws in just 20 minutes just isn’t going to get it done. If the former Michigan standout wants ‘his championship’ so badly, he needs to play a lot more inspired.

Like Barkley, you have to wonder why energizer Jason Maxiell only got 11 minutes. He did score four and block a shot. And whenever he’s out there, the ex-Cincinnati product makes things happen on both sides of the floor. It would be wise if Flip Saunders got him in Game 5 more. He plays with a lot of purpose.

Cleveland has to like the position they’re in. They have rallied for the second straight year from 0-2 down to tie a series against the Pistons. Last year, they took Game 5 before losing the last two to drop a tough EC Semi series.

This year, they know they could’ve taken either of the first two games on the road. Of course, it’s a lot different if you win. You don’t get credit for coming close.

We’re really going to find out a lot about whether LeBron can take this team on his back and get them to their first NBA Finals. Especially against a battle tested Detroit club.

It should be exciting. More than you can say for the disappointing performance of Utah, who could be eliminated by San Antonio tonight in five games. You can’t kill the dynamic duo of Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer. Both have done their part. Williams in particular has been utterly brilliant in trying to carry his team.

Has anyone seen Mehmet Okur? Andrei Kirilenko at least shows up on the defensive end. Both have not distinguished themselves in this series. Part of that is the Spurs. But they can play much better than they’ve shown.

It was deja vu for LeBron James and the Cavaliers. Their worst nightmare was realized when the Pistons once again cameback to defeat them in Game 2 by an identical 79-76 margin at The Palace of Auburn Hills- putting the Cavs in an 0-2 hole in the seven-game Eastern Conference Final.

In both tough defeats, LeBron could’ve played the role of hero. For the last 72 hours entering tonight, second guessing ensued regarding whether the superstar should’ve taken the shot instead of dishing off to Donyell Marshall in the right corner for a three which fell off the mark.

Tonight with his team down one after Rasheed Wallace made a difficult right baseline turnaround fadeaway over him with 24 seconds left, James tried to win the game this time by driving to the basket. Guarded extremely well by Richard Hamilton, the superstar went up for a tough shot in the lane which rebounded off the iron to an uncontested Larry Hughes from 12 feet. But the slumping Cavs’ guard predictably missed, leaving it up to Anderson Varejao. But the underrated energizer’s tip try came off the glass to Wallace who in turn gave the ball up to Chauncey Billups, who was fouled with only one tick left.

A furious Mike Brown was assessed a technical after contesting that James got fouled on the crucial play. It wasn’t to be as the Pistons made two of three free throws to put it away. Though Billups missed the last, it didn’t matter because the Cavs were out of timeouts. Plus Varejao had to fling a prayer which had no chance much like the first game ironically enough.

So, was LeBron fouled as TNT’s Kenny Smith claimed? I’ll say no. That was just smart D by Hamilton. He did a good job bodying up and then backed off when James attempted his shot which never had a chance because it was off balance. And as Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley both stated afterward, “You can’t expect to get the call on the road in that situation.”

Barkley later went on to mention how he was “still waiting for a call in Boston,” drawing laughter.

James was clearly frustrated as well at not getting the call. However, you have to ask why a man of his size, strength and speed doesn’t go directly to the rim in that spot? Instead, the 22 year-old star who finished with just five second half points after getting 14 in the first half settled for a difficult shot with three Pistons converging leaving two rebounds. But Hughes couldn’t convert and neither could Varejao which meant they were going back home to Cleveland in an 0-2 hole this weekend.

If James came up short, then Wallace didn’t. After having a big Game 1 in which he posted a double double and blocked seven shots, Rasheed followed it up with a huge final quarter scoring 10 of his team high 16 including the difficult go-ahead bucket to help his team go up 2-0.

In a final 12 minutes which wasn’t pretty, the power forward made all the big plays to score more than half his team’s 19 as they held Cleveland to just 13 for the second consecutive quarter- meaning the Cavs only got 26 points all second half after scoring 34 in a huge second in which they outscored Detroit by 16 to grab a 12-point halftime lead.

Wallace made his only three of the night in the fourth and also stole the ball from LeBron and scored in the open floor for two of his four baskets in the period on a night he finished an efficient 7-of-10 from the field. Along with his winner, the big man proved that he wanted the ball and came up large also adding 11 boards, three assists, two blocks and two steals.

While it was an inspired night for Rasheed, his teammates struggled. Billups finished with 13 points, six assists while turning it over five times. Valuable small forward Tayshaun Prince had an atrocious shooting night finishing 0-for-8 with only one point. He did however guard LeBron most of the game and still contributed four rebounds and four assists in 41 minutes.

After a solid first game, Hamilton was 5-of-14 including one trey and made just half his four free throws to finish with 13.

Chris Webber had just nine on 4-of-13 shooting in only 24 minutes as Flip Saunders opted to ride the hot hand in second-year forward Jason Maxiell, who was just terrific. The ex-Cincinnati product played large in this one scoring 15 (7-of-9 FG) off the bench along with six rebounds, a steal and two blocks in 21 minutes.

When Detroit needed a boost, Maxiell provided it. He was particularly effective in the opening quarter. With Wallace in early foul trouble and Antonio McDyess coming out with a cut in his mouth, he came in and played extremely well with lots of poise. He was a beast around the basket, finishing off a couple of slams. He had seven, four boards and two blocks in the quarter.

If not for Maxiell’s contributions, the Pistons would’ve been cooked and hitting the road tied at one. Instead, they’re in control. What they must remember is that last year, they led the Cavs 2-0 in the second round before Cleveland stunned them by winning the next three putting them on the brink. But the Pistons were able to rally back and pull it out to advance to the ECF before losing to eventual NBA champ Miami.

For the Cavs, it’s back to the drawing board knowing full well they easily could’ve gotten a split. Maybe they even should have won both. Instead, they’ll have to move on and try to bounceback starting Sunday night which might explain James’ response to that final play which didn’t go his way:

“I believe there was some contact, but there’s been a lot of contact throughout this series. We’re a no-excuse team and we can’t look at the last play as why we lost. We just have to get better.“

Absolutely correct. There’s nothing they can do now about these two games. Both will go down as losses.

They wasted a supreme effort from WWE Carlito look alike Varejao, who was awesome off the bench contributing a double double (14 pts and game high 14 rebs) in 30 minutes. He was superb around the paint finishing off dunks and lay-ups and also all over the glass.

The biggest question with this game was what happened to the aggressive LeBron we saw in the first half who scored 14 of his 19 on drives to the hoop which included at least three dunks including one facial in the second quarter? Why did the Cavs as Barkley concluded slow down the pace to a crawl and go away from what worked so well in the second quarter? It’s hard to say. But Detroit opened the third quarter on a 14-4 run to erase Cleveland’s big lead and it would be close the rest of the way, which ultimately favored the better halfcourt team.

The Cavs got almost zilch from bigs Zydrunas Ilgauskas (3 pts on 1-of-6) and Drew Gooden (two baskets in 16 mins). That can’t happen again when the series shifts to Cleveland.

Hughes also continued to struggle taking just nine shots and making only two in 37 minutes. He’s supposed to be a versatile guard who can get to the basket and also drop the occasional long range bomb. But since his dreadful finish against the Nets, he’s seemed gun shy. You can’t be that way. We’re not talking about just an average player here. Hughes has been a good scorer in this league who can explode and was brought in two years ago to help out LeBron. He needs to do more. Three rebounds, two assists and two turnovers won’t get it done.

The Cavs wasted a good night from Sasha Pavlovic, who finished an accurate 7-of-10 for 14 points along with three steals including one in the final 60 seconds which could’ve sealed the game. But his teammates didn’t take advantage.

Meanwhile, James added seven assists, six rebounds and three steals to go with his team high 19. In the first game, he took 15 shots converting only five. Last night, he took four more (19) and made two more (7). That’s not enough if his team is going to win and advance to their first ever NBA Finals.

Aside from that, James was more tenative in the second half and turned it over six times. He forced a couple of bad passes in the process.

The Cavs need their young star to dominate in crunch time. That hasn’t happened thus far which better change in Game 3.

Tony Parker’s playoff career high 14 assists along with 17 points helped the Spurs slice and dice the Jazz to the tune of a 105-96 Game 2 home victory to take a 2-0 series lead in the Western Conference Final.

For the Jazz, it’s the second time this postseason they’re in an 0-2 hole. During the first round, they trailed the Rockets by the same deficit before rallying to take the series in seven games. However, as point guard Deron Williams pointed out afterwards, being down two to the championship calibre Spurs is a lot different:

“We still have a chance. But I think it’s a lot worse to be down 2-0 to the Spurs than the Rockets. They have championships and guys who know how to win. They’re also a much better road team.”

The splendid soph understands how difficult a task it now becomes for his team to comeback. They’ll need to be more consistent when they return home to Salt Lake for a must win Game 3 Saturday night.

One thing they need to do is get off to a better start. The Jazz never led during last night’s game and trailed by as much as 22 in the second half as Parker and the Spurs’ outside shooters along with Tim Duncan (team high 26 along with 14 boards, 5 blocks and 4 assists) toyed with them to set a franchise mark by making 13 three’s.

After a close opening quarter in which Utah trailed by just two, they had another brutal second getting outscored 32-17 to be put in a huge hole down 17 at the half. A little friendly advice for Jerry Sloan’s young club: Falling behind by that much against a battle tested team such as San Antonio is a recipe for disaster.

It’s just too much to climb out of. The same thing happened in Game 1 which was almost an identical margin of defeat (8 pts instead of 9). By the time they started playing better at both ends to cut the deficit to only seven in the final quarter, it was just a little too much to overcome. Twice, Parker got into the lane and setup Bruce Bowen for uncontested treys from each corner. The defensive stopper connected on three-of-four from that distance for all nine of his points.

If you are letting Bowen beat you, you got problems. Nothing against the gritty defender who works as hard as anyone. But when you’re facing the Big Three of Parker, Duncan and Manu Ginobili who also added 17 points (three from downtown) along with four rebounds, three assists and two steals, you better not allow a secondary part to hurt you.

Aside from that, savvy perimeter veteran Michael Finley also knocked down three trifectas adding 11 points in 23 minutes along with six rebounds. Even unheralded center Fabricio Oberto followed a surprising 14 in Game 1 with another 14 on an efficient six-of-seven from the field- also grabbing seven boards. If he’s scoring in double digits, Utah has no chance to win this series.

So much must change for the Jazz to get back in it. Aside from dynamic duo Williams and Carlos Boozer, who combined for 59 points, 19 rebounds and 13 assists, they just aren’t getting enough support thus far. As promised Andrei Kirilenko was better Tuesday night finishing 5-of-11 from the field plus five-of-seven from the line to contribute 15 points and three assists. But with only three rebounds and a block in 37 minutes, it was un-Drago like. The versatile small forward needs to do better in that area on the interior to help turn the series around.

If Kirilenko improved, then center Mehmet Okur was once again a non-factor finishing just 4-of-13 for 11 points. He did step out and make two three’s but unless he’s a consistent scoring threat inside and outside, the Jazz don’t have a reliable third option.

Derek Fisher, who was so good against the Warriors had a dreadful night making just one-of-nine field goals and misfiring on all four three’s for only three points in 30 minutes.

Another problem for the Jazz is their lack of bench scoring. Against Golden State, it was a polar opposite. Last night, they got outscored 28-8 with both Ginobili (17) and three-point specialist Brent Barry (9 on all treys) getting more than the trio of Paul Millsap (4), Gordan Giricek (2) and Matt Harpring (2). Only Harpring got major minutes (27) as compared to 18 total for the other two. Problem was the former Georgia Tech two sport star was ineffective.

If Sloan is only going to use eight in his rotation, then they better perform at a high level because Gregg Popovich has the luxury of bringing Ginobili, Barry and Robert “Big Shot Bob” Horry off his bench which makes it a potent weapon because all those guys have experience and are used to playing big minutes. The San Antonio coach also hasn’t been afraid to use backup point guard Jacques Vaughn to spell Parker and even has given time to center Francisco Elson throughout the Spring which means he can rest Duncan when needed.

It also means Popovich isn’t afraid to go 10 deep which means his key players should be fresher in crunch time. That spells trouble for the Jazz.

They’ll now have three days off to regroup before Saturday. We’ll see what Sloan comes up with to make this interesting. The good news is they usually play great on their own home court. They have some of the best fans in the NBA who make a lot of noise and support their Jazz very well. You know they’ll be behind their team trying to rally them.

We’ll see what happens!

The great players step up when needed most. In crunch time. Even on an off night in which he was kept silent by the Cavs’ D, Pistons’ guard Chauncey Billups never let that get to him in helping lead his team to a Game 1 three-point victory, 79-76 over Cleveland at the Palace.

Billups scored 10 of his 13 points in the final quarter to help his team pull out the hard fought win and take a 1-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference Final.

When his team needed him most, he stepped up and made some big shots by draining two three’s and completing a three-point play in a tightly played final 12 minutes.

The former 2004 Finals MVP made the biggest shot of the night with under two minutes left by knocking down an uncontested trey from the top of the key to put Detroit back ahead 78-76.

Cleveland had three chances to tie or win the game but LeBron James and Co. failed to get it done and steal home court when it was there for the taking. They would get the final two possessions but couldn’t capitalize.

First, James drove the lane, drew a double and fed big man Zydrunas Ilgauskas for a wide open 17-footer. But unlike most of the game where the center had the magic touch from that distance for a team high 22 on 9-of-17 shooting, he was short off the rim. The ball rebounded back out to James and coach Mike Brown called timeout to diagram a final play.

Truthfully, it wasn’t a bad play at all. Brown substituted long distance shooter and Game 6 hero Donyell Marshall for Ilgauskas. The recent 34th birthday celebrant entered the game having scored only two points on 1-of-3 from the field in nine minutes. Yet there he was on the floor. If you know the game, you knew he what the play was. So I wasn’t surprised when LeBron drove the lane and then found the ex-Uconn star in the right corner for an open three. But his shot fell off the rim and caromed out before Billups recovered it near mid-court and was fouled with 2.8 left.

After making the first for a three-point lead, he missed the second but it didn’t matter much as the Cavs had burned all their timeouts leaving just a desperation 75-foot heave from Anderson “Carlito AKA Sideshow Bob” Varejao which never had a chance.

And so the Pistons overcame a poor first half to pull out the big ‘W.’

To be perfectly honest, much like what TNT’s Kenny Smith said, “Cleveland should’ve won tonight.”

That they didn’t probably doesn’t bode well for the rest of the series. As Smith, Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley concluded alongside Ernie Johnson, “That was probably the worst Detroit’s going to play.”

Which means Cleveland should feel like they missed a golden opportunity here. Sure. They can conclude as Ilgauskas did during a postgame interview with Craig Sager that “they were in a close game and had a chance to win and would take it.”

But those are the ones a road team has to win if they want to take home court at this stage.

Now to the TNT analysts’ criticism of LeBron’s decision on that final play. It’s hard to disagree because he’s supposed to be the best player on the floor. And if you watched enough replays, then you know that he had a step on solid defender Tayshaun Prince at the free throw line. The double also came late and as Rasheed Wallace (15 pts, 12 boards, game high 7 blocks) informed Magic and Co., he wasn’t coming over to help out but rather to get the rebound. When James gets a head of steam in full flight, he’s tough to stop because he’s so strong. He should’ve just gone for the lay-up and tried to draw the foul. Not once did the superstar get to the line all night. Instead, he passed out to Marshall, who missed on his chance to be the hero.

I’m only going to ask this once. But who would Cavs’ fans rather have with the ball in that big spot. LeBron or an ice cold Marshall who just got up off the bench??? Case closed!

Detroit was lucky to be only down six at the half. They were lackluster at the offensive end and were outworked by Cleveland on the offensive glass. Particularly Varejao who pulled down five of his eight rebounds in Detroit’s end and either got putbacks or setup teammates. The sparkplug finished with 13 on 6-of-9 shooting along with two steals in 26 minutes.

The Pistons were able to hang around thanks to Rip Hamilton and Chris Webber who combined for almost half their points.

After scoring nine in the first half, Hamilton was even better getting 15 of his game high 24 (11-of-21 FG) in the second half. The great mid-ranger shooter even dialed long distance twice. The ex-Uconn star made some difficult shots and also added seven assists and two steals in 43 minutes.

They got an inspired game from Wallace at both ends. He did a solid job doubling LeBron and also was terrific at protecting the basket rejecting a couple of James’ drives on his way to seven blocks. Aside from the D, he didn’t rely just on his perimeter game instead making six of his seven shots on the interior. He did make one big trey also in the final quarter but what else would you expect? He turned it up.

The Pistons didn’t get the usual scoring from top defender Prince who finished with just nine but the team oriented small forward still contributed mightily by playing solid D on LeBron while pulling down six boards and handing out nine assists including the big dish for Billups’ winner.

Flip Saunders lengthened his rotation by playing veteran big man Dale Davis. He contributed five points and three rebounds in five solid minutes. Aside from Davis, usual rotation bigs Antonio McDyess (2 pts, 4 rebs) and Jason Maxiell (1 offensive rebound and assist to setup Billups trey with 5+ left) gave the Detroit coach usual time.

For Cleveland, Larry Hughes shot 4-of-13 finishing with 13 and seven boards but continued to struggle from the perimeter misfiring on all three long range attempts. The Cavaliers need the versatile guard to make a couple of outside shots to keep Detroit’s defense honest.

They’ll also need more than the career playoff low 10 LeBron gave them. While it’s true that the unselfish superstar also grabbed 10 rebounds and dropped nine dimes just missing out on a triple double while also adding four steals, he needs to sometimes take over in these close games. Fifteen shots just isn’t enough. He needs to be more aggressive.
LeBron doesn’t have a great supporting cast. In crunch time, he has to make the big plays. That sometimes means getting the big buckets. We’ll see if he makes an adjustment in Game 2 Thursday night.

Later tonight, the Jazz will take on the Spurs in Game 2 looking to even the best-of-seven Western Conference Final series. They shouldn’t be as nervous as they looked in Game 1 when they fell 108-100. Look for Carlos Boozer to be better and expect another great game from super soph Deron Williams.

Utah was defended well by the championship calibre Spurs and the Big Three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili came through by combining for 71 points, 14 rebounds and 21 assists.

Williams (34, 7 and 9) and Boozer (20 and 12) will need more from bigs Andrei Kirilenko and Mehmet Okur who combined for just 17 points, 11 boards and one block.

After being taken to task by coach Jerry Sloan, expect the Jazz to come out more focused tonight.

Manu Ginobili and the Spurs once again proved to be too much for the Suns. Two years after eliminating them from the Western Conference Final en route to a third NBA title, San Antonio took care of Steve Nash and Co. in the Conference Semis- this time ousting them with a 114-106 Game 6 triumph Friday night in front a packed house in Texas.

Ginobili came off the bench to pace the Spurs with 33 finishing a splendid 11-of-17 from the field including 4-for-7 from downtown and converting 7-of-9 free throws in 35 minutes. The versatile sixth man also added 11 rebounds, six assists and four steals in what was a brilliant performance by a money player.

It wasn’t just him though. It was basically every key Spur in what was a terrific third quarter in which they outscored a weary Suns’ team 28-16 to break open a close game. Point guard Tony Parker sliced and diced Phoenix all night to the tune of 30 points and six assists. He had a huge first half which basically spelled doom. When the lightning quick guard is getting into the lane and scoring at will, it’s usually a bad sign.

Even worse for the Suns in what was an awful conclusion to the third was that defensive pest Bruce Bowen drained a couple of big treys during a 14-2 spurt to put them down 81-67 entering the final quarter.

It would only get worse as Ginobili nailed a three and also scored on a tough floater to balloon the deficit to 20 before energized fans.

The Suns never gave up though and to their credit got it down to 106-101 in the final minute when Steve Nash keyed a 20-7 run. But it was too little too late as Ginobili made two free throws and a Michael Finley lay-up sealed their fate.

The difference between the two teams was San Antonio’s excellence of execution at both ends. They played much better offensively and spaced the floor out perfectly for the trio of Tim Duncan (24 pts, 13 rebounds), Ginobili and Parker.

But it was their aggressive and physical defense which ultimately proved to be too much for Nash and Co. to overcome. With Bowen basically Krazy glued to Nash and Duncan helping out to make it almost impossible for the two-time league MVP to even breathe in the lane, it took the Suns out of their offense and resulted in forced shots and poor possessions.

Duncan btw was unbelievable defensively in this one, finishing with a postseason career best nine blocks (also Spurs’ franchise best). Just one away from a triple double and one off the the playoff mark of 10.

He was everywhere and made it very difficult for Phoenix around the basket even if Amare Stoudemire kept it close by getting a game high 38 (15 in fourth quarter) on an array of acrobatic lay-ins. The big man did his part also pulling down 12 boards.

Nash, who hardly took any shots until the fourth quarter still wound up with 18 and 14 assists- even grabbing six rebounds. But everything was well earned which would explain the game high five turnovers he finished with. A credit to how tough San Antonio made it on him.

Shawn Marion had a quiet game finishing with 11 points and 11 rebounds. The Spurs also kept Phoenix’ explosive perimeter game in check as the Suns only connected on 6-of-16 from beyond the arc. The Spurs actually attempted six more shots (22) from that distance converting one more (7).

Ultimately, TNT studio analyst Charles Barkley proved prophetic when he warned that the quick turnaround after Game 5 might hurt the Suns because Mike D’Antoni played his key guys big minutes due to being shorthanded without Amare and Boris Diaw. That fatigue showed during that crucial 13-14 minute stretch when the Spurs broke it open.

You have to give a lot of credit to Gregg Popovich, who only is one of the league’s best coaches. He came up with a great defensive strategy to stifle the faster paced and “more talented” Suns. Well, according to D’Antoni anyway.

Sometimes, talent doesn’t always matter as much as how you utilize your personnel. And Popovich certainly is a master at that. His team executed better defensively and were also the more efficient team in the halfcourt.

The Suns are a great transition team and one which depends so much on Nash getting them open looks from the outside. But with the Spurs getting back quickly on D, clogging up the middle and doubling the small guard while also covering the perimeter, it made it extremely difficult for Phoenix to play their game.

The Spurs also had more size and that showed last night. There’s a reason they’re a great champion and they showed it.

In some aspects, the Suns were exposed in this series. They don’t have an effective backup for Nash, which forces him to play too many minutes. There’s just way too much pressure on his shoulders. He can only do so much. Nash isn’t the biggest guy and against that kind of swarming D, it’s understandable that he’d get worn down. The Spurs beat him up all series.

Phoenix also wasn’t able to get much from backup center Diaw. He was so good last year with Stoudemire out. But he was basically a non-factor this postseason and sort of a disappointment. Thirteen minutes and one point isn’t enough. D’Antoni deserves some of the blame here.

Also, by playing Kurt Thomas so many minutes the other night, the ex-Knick was low on fuel and essentially had nothing left which explains the five and three rebounds in just 16 minutes. So where was the inside game aside from Stoudemire?

There have to be some adjustments in a tough grinding series such as this one if you want to advance and win the ultimate prize. We didn’t see much of an answer from the Suns’ coach.

A lot will be discussed about whether those suspensions cost Phoenix the series. I say no. They still had a good shot to win Game 5. Ultimately, they fell short. I didn’t see any players using it as an alibi last night which is good. Also, if they really missed them that much, why didn’t the Suns win last night? You would’ve thought they’d make a difference. Phoenix played better Wednesday.
They lost. That’s the bottom line here. The Spurs were the better team and now will play the Jazz in the Western Conference Final. Expect that to be a very good series. The Jazz have enough size and athleticism to match-up with San Antonio. They also are better in the halfcourt, play better team D and have an equally great coach in Jerry Sloan.

This should be an extremely good series. It all starts tomorrow on ABC.

The great ones are often defined by how they stand up in the face of adversity. With his team on the verge of blowing a 22-point lead, LeBron James made all the big plays in crunch time to lead his Cavaliers to an 88-72 Game 6 victory over the Nets at East Rutherford.

After a huge opening quarter in which he scored 14 points to help spark his team to a 17-point cushion, James was blanketed for two straight quarters and saddled with foul trouble when he picked up No.4 by knocking down Mikki Moore on a screen.

With James on the bench with over four minutes left in the third quarter, Jason Kidd elevated his play significantly by scoring about half his 19 in a dominant 12 minutes which saw his team outscore the Cavs 22-8 to slice the deficit down to one. That included a 14-2 run to end the quarter with the Nets’ zone giving Cleveland fits.

The good news for Mike Brown’s team was that he was able to reinsert his star player at the start of the fourth. With his team still clinging to a one-point lead with less than 10:00 left, the unselfish James took over by distributing the ball to wide open teammates.

First, he drove the lane and found rookie Daniel Gibson on the right wing for a wide open three to go up four. On their next possession, this time he setup birthday boy Donyell Marshall for one of his game high six treys to suddenly put them back up seven forcing the Nets to call for time. The ex-Uconn star celebrated his 34th birthday did it in style by knocking down 6-of-10 three’s to rebound from an awful 0-for-7 Game 5 performance and help get Cleveland to its first Eastern Conference Final in 15 years. All series, he had struggled to find his shot. In this one, he played a huge role in eliminating the Nets.

James would also make his first basket since the first quarter and then later find Marshall in the corner again for another uncontested trifecta which put them up nine. They would never look back in outscoring the Nets 27-12 to pull away for the convincing 16-point win to setup a rematch of last year’s EC Semis against Detroit- a series they lost in seven after leading 3-2.

While it’s true Marshall came off the bench for 18 and five rebounds in 18 big minutes, the Cavaliers wouldn’t have won without LeBron on the floor during that critical stretch which put the game away. Sure, you could argue he didn’t do much for two quarters after an inspiring start in which he and Drew Gooden (8-for-11 FG, 16 pts, 7 rebounds) took apart the Nets early on to build their big lead against a surprisingly sluggish Nets squad.

When your team struggles as badly as the Cavs did without James in that third quarter, it looked eerily similar to Game 5. Aside from LeBron, only Gooden and Marshall were in double figures meaning Zydrunas Ilgauskas (6 pts) wasn’t a factor and Larry Hughes (1 field goal) again struggled.

You take James off the floor and there just isn’t much creativity. He’s one of those versatile stars who doesn’t have to score every possession to help his team win, proving that tonight by adding eight rebounds and eight assists to go with his team best 23 in 38 minutes. He makes everyone better by creating space due to doubleteams. Someone has to be open. In the final quarter, both Gibson (scored all eight including two from downtown) and Marshall were.

That’s all it took because Kidd and the Nets’ fuel tank finall ran on empty after expending so much energy to get back in the game. In the end, Kidd and Co. might’ve fallen short, but once again the 34 year-old point guard was inspirational even in defeat- pacing the team in points (19) rebounds (12) and assists (8) after an inauspicious start.

There have been lots of great guards but few have been better than the former California star who once helped upset Duke in the NCAA’s over a decade ago. I believe he finished the series by averaging a triple double. How many guards do as much as this guy? He frequently led his team in rebounds and of course distributed the ball like few others and scored when called upon. Whether it was a timely three from the perimeter or a scintillating drive to the basket resulting in a great finish, this guy did it all. He tried to will his team to victory tonight when they looked dead.

From the time he found Bostjan Nachbar for a three at the buzzer to give the Nets life down 15 at the half to all the driving lay-ups and aggressive defense, Kidd gave everything he had leaving it all out on the court. Unfortunately, a three from the right wing which would’ve given them the lead fell way short foreshadowing the end for New Jersey.

You could only ask your best player to do so much. Especially when dog Vince Carter mailed it in with only 11 on a lackluster 4-of-11 missing both three’s and turning it over five times. When Moore (14 and 7) contributes more than what’s supposed to be your superstar finisher, you aren’t going to win. The other problem for the Nets was that after a hot start, Richard Jefferson cooled off to finish with 16 on 7-of-16 shooting. At least he tried.

What’s Carter’s excuse? They should’ve dealt him when they had the chance. Would you bring him back after his mindboggling performances? He’s a great talent and when motivated, is one of the best players in the game. That’s the problem. Carter is now 30 and will probably lose a step. Not get better. He’s never been a clutch playoff performer.

The Nets should go in a different direction. Even if they brought him back, maybe do a sign-and-trade. Kidd still has something left and can help prepare Marcus Williams for the starting role when they relocate to Brooklyn in two years. Jefferson is a very versatile player who does many things well. They’ll get Nenad Krstic back next year too.

Meanwhile, for James and the Cavs, this was a statement win and one the superstar recognized:

“It’s a great feeling. This is one of the best feelings I’ve ever had as a basketball player.”
Now LeBron and Co. will get the chance to play in the Conference Finals against battle tested Detroit. We’ll see how they fare.

Rasheed Wallace and the Pistons are moving on. His double double (16 and 13) along with four assists and great interior defense (2 blocks) helped lead the Pistons to a 95-85 Game 6 victory at the United Center.

The Bulls were looking to become only the fourth NBA team to come from 0-3 down to force a deciding seventh game. The last team to accomplish it was the Blazers in 2003 before falling to Dallas in Game 7.

Instead, the more experienced Pistons finally came out with a sense of desperation on both sides of the floor. They executed much better offensively and were tenacious defensively just like in Games 1-3 which might help explain the Bulls inefficient 37.3 percent (28-of-75) from the floor. During the telecast, ESPN used a good graphic about how Chicago had similar shooting nights in the first three losses where they were basically 35-or-under as compared to 49 percent and 57 percent in their two consecutive wins entering tonight.

Detroit’s trademark D was back and didn’t allow explosive Bulls such as Kirk Hinrich (11 pts on 3-of-13 FG), Ben Gordon (19 on 7-of-18 FG, 4-for-9 3’s) and Luol Deng (17 on 7-of-14 FG) to explode from the perimeter.

The key for the Pistons in reaching their fifth straight Eastern Conference Final was a good start unlike the dismal one they had in Game 5.

They shot the ball extremely well in the opening quarter and led by five 28-23 after one. Building as much as a seven point lead, they seemed to be in command. But some inspired play by 37 year-old veteran P.J. Brown brought the Bulls all the way back in a strong finish to the second quarter in which Chicago outscored Detroit by 10 to take a five point lead to the locker room.

The power forward became the bulk of the offense matching his playoff career high by scoring 20 first half points on a variety of buckets from within 15-16 feet. His inspired play (7-of-15 FG) sparked his teammates as they turned up the defense a couple of notches sending the home supporters into a frenzy. Brown left to a deserved ovation.

Andres Nocioni also came off the bench for 10 points and six rebounds including a couple of dunks and three free throws after being fouled on a three.

If the Bulls played a strong second, then the Pistons flexed their muscles at the start of the second half. Apparently, they got the message from Flip Saunders that this was serious. Picking up the defensive intensity and executing in the halfcourt thanks to some tough jumpers from Richard Hamilton (23 pts on 9-of-18 FG and 5-of-5 FT), they came out with a 12-1 run to start the second half to lead by six.

The Bulls never led again. They stayed within striking distance but just couldn’t get shots to go from the outside. All night, their big three of Hinrich, Gordon and Deng were forced into difficult shots. On one sequence, the super quick Gordon drove around three Pistons and took a high arcing off balance floater from about 13 and missed badly.

It was that kind of game for the younger Bulls who learned a valuable lesson about what it takes to reach the NBA’s elite.

Underrated Piston Tayshaun Prince saved his best for the final 12 minutes converting a on a couple of tough hooks on the inside and also finishing off a Wallace backdoor feed for a jam for six of his 17. The ex-Kentucky star also made his only trey in the third quarter when Detroit turned the game around. Prince is one of those guys who sneaks up on you. He isn’t flashy but does many things well including lockdown defense. He can beat you inside or outside. Prince finished also with nine boards, three assists and a block and converted more than half his shots going 8-for-15.

Chauncey Billups had a quiet game from the field finishing just 3-of-12 but made a living at the line making all 14 while adding seven assists and two steals. He played great D on both Hinrich and Gordon. There’s a reason the former Colorado star is so good. It’s because he’s a constant presence.

The most disappointing aspect of this game was how Scott Skiles coached it. My buddy John who’s studying abroad in Italy had complained for a long time about Skiles’ coaching style.

In this game, the laid back and snappy Chicago native who is in his third year at Stanford was proven right. With ex-Piston Ben Wallace clearly playing at less than 100 percent with an achy back, he should’ve given more minutes to Brown. Big Ben only played 28 as it was finishing with only six points and seven boards (2 offensive). He tried his best which is why he’s so respected.

But here’s a question for Skiles. You’re team’s down by eight with a few minutes left in your season and has struggled offensively. What’s more important? Offense or defense? While it’s true you need stops at the defensive end, Wallace was basically a non-option at the offensive end making just two of eight free throws. Skiles could’ve gone to the younger and healthier Tyrus Thomas. Granted, the former LSU star wasn’t all that good tonight getting just two points, five rebounds and turning it over three times in 15 minutes. But maybe a lineup of Hinrich, Gordon, Deng, Brown and Thomas might’ve given the Bulls more offense and still enough interior D to keep Detroit one and out.
Just saying.

In any event, it didn’t matter as the Pistons just never allowed the Bulls to even contemplate a Game 7. They did what champions do. They finally put their younger opponents away.

And now Detroit will await the winner of Cleveland-Nets. That one might go seven given how poorly the Cavs played the other night in a disappointing 83-72 Game 5 home loss which had fans booing Larry Hughes (dreadful 3-for-17) off the court and probably screaming other obscenities as well.

How bad was the fourth quarter? The Nets only scored six points including just one field goal by Vince Carter who oddly enough was more ball distributor (10 assists) than scorer (12 pts on only 11 shots). But due to Cleveland’s lackluster third quarter in which they were outscored 30-20, they were down by too much to mount a comeback scoring just 13 themselves in the lowest scoring fourth quarter you’ll ever see. That’s if you could actually watch.

The teams combined to miss something like the first 16 or 17 shots at one point. The Nets shot just 1-for-10 while the Cavs weren’t much better finishing 3-for-17 to fall in their first chance to reach an Eastern Conference Final for the first time since 1992.

Remarkably, the Nets’ six points wasn’t the lowest ever output for a playoff game. That dubious honor went to the Blazers against Utah back on May 18, 1999.

How ugly was this game? The teams combined for 35 turnovers (Nets-17 including 8 from Jason Kidd, Cavs-18 including 5 from LeBron James). Ironically, both stars finished with almost identical lines:

Kidd wound up with 20 points, nine rebounds, six assists, four steals and two blocks to go with his eight miscues. James finished with 20, nine boards, five assists, two steals and a block to go with his five turnovers.

The good news for Kidd was that he got enough support from Richard Jefferson (15 pts), Mikki Moore (14), Carter (12) and Bostjan Nachbar (13 including three trifectas) to help stave off elimination and send the series back to East Rutherford for Game Six Friday night.

LeBron wasn’t as fortunate. Only one other teammate finished with double digits. Big man Zydrunas Ilgauskas did his part by converting on six-of-eight from the field and all four free throws for 16 points.

The next most points came from Sasha Pavlovic and rookie Daniel Gibson who each had eight. Far from enough for the Cavs to prevail.

The Cavs will need Hughes to rebound and a bigger game from LeBron if they want to finish off the Nets.

They also could use something more from Donyell Marshall, who was an awful 0-for-7 and took some woeful shots. The ex-Uconn star looks like he’s been spending too much time at Dunkin’ Donuts and not the weight room.

Hopefully, he’ll be able to squeeze in some basketball soon or he might be off an NBA roster.

The Suns will also get Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw back for a must-win Game Six on the road at San Antonio after falling three short without them.

It all starts at 7 ET/4 PT later tonight with Cavs-Nets tipping off first on ESPN.