Like Last Season, Pistons Again Tied With Cavaliers

May 30, 01:40 AM

Current Headlines: CLEVELAND _ Welcome to 2006, all over again.

For the second year in a row, the Pistons have watched a 2-0 series lead disappear amid the insatiable fans, the LeBron James disciples, at Quicken Loans Arena.

The Cleveland Cavaliers took Game 4 over midway through the fourth quarter Tuesday night. The Pistons can only hope the series did not go with it.

The Pistons' final rally attempt fell short as the Cavs won, 91-87, to tie the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals at 2-2. Game 5 is Thursday night at the Palace, and Game 6 is Saturday night in Cleveland.

"Tonight, they did what we do," Tayshaun Prince said of the Cavs. "They pretty much kept the game close, kept the game close. Then in the fourth quarter, when we make our punch, it was vice versa today. They made theirs, and they made it at the right time."

James made two free throws with four seconds left to give his team room to breathe, but the real winning punch came earlier in the fourth, when the Cavs rattled off 9-0 straight points, stealing the lead for good.

And after a postseason filled only with series leads, the Pistons now have a three-game dogfight for the right to go to the NBA Finals.

"This thing's not new for us," said shooting guard Richard Hamilton, who scored 19 points on 21 shots. "Ever since I've been here, it's been the same old story."

Pistons point guard Chauncey Billups scored 23 points, but too many came early. He had only five points in the second half. And he committed one of his five turnovers and missed a shot in the final 90 seconds.

After the Pistons chopped what had been an eight-point Cleveland lead to four with a jumper from Hamilton, rookie Daniel Gibson _ a star with 21 points _ turned the ball over.

But the Pistons couldn't take advantage. Billups, searching for a play as the shot clock wound down, threw a pass right to Cleveland's Drew Gooden, who hit one of two free throws to make it 88-83.

"I thought `Sheed was floating to the corner," Billups said. "And once I got up, he wasn't floating, I tried to make a pass over the top of Gooden... and he made a good play on it."

Hamilton hit another jumper with 1:02 left, and then Rasheed Wallace, who scored only nine points and picked up his fifth technical of the postseason, blocked Gooden's short jumper.

But Billups wasted no time, running to the three-point line, where he leaned into a long attempt.

"It was a funny play," Billups said. "I got the ball, and I noticed a man trailing me hard. So I'm coming up on my three-point shot, I look over and see him and he's coming hard, so I try to take one step in and pull and make him kind of run into me. And he was able to get out of the way and dodge me."

The Cavaliers did that all night. The Pistons could not build a lead above four points.

The Pistons got within two when the officials credited Antonio McDyess with a tip-in with 4.7 seconds left. Then James made his free throws, with Hamilton buzzing in his ear.

"That's just part of the game," Hamilton said.

James scored 25 points and added 11 assists and seven rebounds . And Gibson _ who played 35 minutes, but did not start for Larry Hughes _ scored a career-high 21 points. He got the star treatment, too. He went 12-for-12 at the free throw line.

McDyess sparked a lot of what went right for the Pistons with his eight points and three rebounds in the third quarter, when the Pistons held the Cavs to 15 points and built a four-point lead. James was 0-for-6 in the third quarter.

Then in the fourth, McDyess, who finished with 12 points, gave the Pistons an early 74-71 lead . It grew to 75-71 before the Cavs took over.

"They played at home, and that's what we work hard for home court for," Billups said. "It's a three-game series, and we've got two of them at our place. Our confidence is really never shaken. That's the crazy thing about our group. No matter what, no matter how we win or lose, we'll still feel confident that we can get it done."

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