MR CLUTCH: Rasheed's Big Shots Help Power Team

May 25, 08:04 AM

Current Headlines: By Krista Jahnke, Detroit Free Press

May 25--LeBron James bypassed his Game 1 production in the second quarter of Game 2. He drove inside more often. He shot free throws.

His team still lost. In fact, it lost by the exact same score.

"It's almost like Groundhog's Day," coach Flip Saunders said.

"Two tough ballgames," Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said.

The Pistons beat the Cavaliers, 79-76, in Game 2 on Thursday night behind a night of big baskets from Rasheed Wallace. They now lead the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final series, 2-0.

While the script was similar to Game 1, it wasn't identical. The Pistons trailed at halftime, played a big third quarter and took over in the fourth, with Rasheed Wallace playing the role of the hero.

Wallace scored 10 of his team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter. He hit a three-pointer to give the Pistons their first lead of the quarter. He made a free throw to tie it with 1:27 left. And he hit the game-winner, a high-arching baseline jumper, with 24.3 seconds to play.

"I told my wife the other night, I'm their megaphone," he said. "I'm the loudspeaker. If they got something they want to say is happening out there, I'm going to say it."

In this case, Wallace's play screamed out the fact that the Pistons were not letting a 2-0 series lead slip away without a fight. The Pistons are 18-0 in franchise history when leading a series 2-0. Game 3 is Sunday at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

"You know, the guys in that locker room, we don't give up, no matter what the deficit is," said Wallace, who had 11 rebounds. "If we lose, OK, we will deal with losing. If we go hard and lose, then it's fine. But it's just resilience with the guys in that locker room."

James finished with 19 points on 19 shots. He was 5-for-7 at the free-throw line.

But in the fourth quarter with the game on the line, he couldn't come up with the big plays. Or the big calls.

And on the final possession, with his team down by two, he drove inside and clanked his final try. Cavs guard Larry Hughes grabbed the rebound and missed a jumper. And Anderson Varejao missed a tip-in.

Finally, Wallace tipped the rebound to Richard Hamilton, and he and Chauncey Billups each made one free throw with a second left to end it.

"'Sheed," Billups said, "he just never ceases to amaze me."

Billups' shot came after Cavaliers coach Mike Brown received a technical foul, howling at the officials for holding their whistles on the final possession.

"Officials get paid a lot of money," Brown said. "It's their job. If they didn't see anything, they didn't see anything. We're a no-excuse team. We've got to be ready for Game 3."

After trailing by 12 at half, Wallace hit a three with 7:08 left that gave the Pistons their first lead, 70-69, of the fourth quarter. The Cavs stuck around and took it back with 2:31 left when Sasha Pavlovic stripped the ball from Hamilton and went to the other end for a lay-up that ended with a goal-tending call on Antonio McDyess.

Wallace tied it with 1:27 left when he made one of two free throws. Then James gave the Cavaliers a 76-75 lead when he made one with 16 seconds later. After trading turnovers, Wallace hit his game-winner.

The Pistons had 23 assists on 32 baskets, but they had another night of high turnovers with 18. Chris Webber had nine points and seven boards; Hamilton scored 13. Tayshaun Prince missed all eight of his shots and finished with just one point. He is now 1-for-19 this series.

Pistons forward Jason Maxiell scored a career playoff-high 15 points and had six rebounds.

For all that went on, the focus again will be on the final play involving James. He said he believed there was contact, "but there's been a lot of contact throughout this series."

Even Wallace admitted the whistles might have blown had the Cavaliers been the home team. "Probably, probably," he said. "It could have went either way. It could have been a foul on Rip or it could have been a foul on LeBron with that off-arm."

Contact KRISTA JAHNKE at 313-223-4493 or kjahnke@freepress.com.

-----

Copyright (c) 2007, Detroit Free Press

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.