Cavs Tie Series at 2-2: James Leads Way As Cleveland Rolls to Win Over Pistons

May 30, 05:09 AM

Current Headlines: By Fran Blinebury, Houston Chronicle

May 30----Game statistics

CLEVELAND -- LeBron James told his teammates to get him to the fourth quarter and he'd carry them home.

He became a pack mule taking on the burden. He became a longshoreman lugging the goods. He became the basketball equivalent of the mythical Atlas, hoisting the Cleveland Cavaliers on his shoulders.

When James was finally finished, scoring 13 of his game-high 25 points down the stretch, the Cavs had a 91-87 win over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night at Quicken Loans Arena. They also had a 2-2 tie in the best-of-seven NBA Eastern Conference finals, and James had another mark on the wall to measure his growth.

"I had to do it," he said. "I had to be aggressive in the fourth quarter, to step up. That's what my teammates want me to do. That's what everybody expects me to do."

It has been a short time but a long journey for James since the first two games of the series at Detroit, where first he passed up a late shot in Game 1, then missed one in the final seconds of Game 2 as the Cavs lost twice.

If this wasn't another answer to those shortcomings in the clutch, it was at least a demonstration that none of what happened before was going to affect James.

After shooting 0-for-6 in the third quarter, he was 4-for-6 in the fourth. He also had three of his 11 assists and four of his seven rebounds.

Big quarter James knocked down tough fadeaway jumpers and a slicing drive to the hoop. He drew the Pistons' defense to him and dished the ball to his teammates who finished plays. James even went 5-for-5 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, including the clinching pair with four seconds left.

"It's big," James said. "My teammates look at me to go up there and knock down big shots either on the free-throw line or on the perimeter. It was very big to get the monkey off my back, to knock down two big free throws and put us up four."

It was the second straight game when James got plenty of help from his supporting cast and the second consecutive time that a Cavs win was tinged with burnt orange.

Veteran forward Drew Gooden hit midrange jumpers and attacked the glass for 19 points and eight rebounds, but it was rookie Daniel Gibson, the former Texas Longhorn and Jones High star who jolted the Pistons. Gibson pumped in a season-high 21 points and calmly stroked in a perfect 12-for-12 from the line. When he wasn't hitting critical jumpers, Gibson was playing the role of aggressor at both ends of the floor.

"He definitely gave us a lift throughout the whole game," James said of Gibson. "You know, a lot of guys don't understand that Daniel is much better than just shooting an outside shot. It's about talent. I told you guys before about Sasha (Pavlovic), and I told you about Daniel. I guess I should be a GM someday."

Another collapse The Cavs survived another third-quarter collapse. They've been outscored by 29 points in the series in the third period. But after the veteran Pistons took a 75-71 lead with eight minutes to play, they couldn't close the deal. Chauncey Billups (23 points) and Rip Hamilton (19) continued to struggle with their shots, making just 15-of-37. Billups was 0-for-3 in the fourth.

"Game 5 is going to be tough in Detroit," James said. "But at least we've made it a series. What we've got to do now is clean up that third quarter."

James can handle the fourth on his own.

fran.blinebury@chron.com

-----

To see more of the Houston Chronicle, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.HoustonChronicle.com.

Copyright (c) 2007, Houston Chronicle

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.