Author: John Blake (Page 50 of 68)

Second chance points and offensive rebounds down the stretch abled the Pistons to barely edge the Cavaliers for an 84-82 Game 6 win Friday night at “The Q”. With the Cavs down 84-81, LeBron could have tied it with a three but was fouled before he could attempt to do so, sending him to the line for two free throws with less than two seconds left. He made the first and intentionally missed the second which resulted in a missed tip-in. Rasheed Wallance led the Pistons with 24 points on 4-8 from beyond the arc and LeBron James finished with 32 points and 11 rebounds. Cleveland couldn’t knock down any long range jumpers, going only 2 of 12 from three-point land.

“Nobody thought we would be here,” James said. “Nobody thought we’d be in a Game 7 against the Pistons. We proved the doubters wrong. We have to prove some more wrong.”

Whenever the Pistons needed a basket in the game, someone managed to deliver. They never allowed the Cavs to sustain their runs for long periods of time. I don’t know whether it was lucky bounces or lack of hustle but the constant offensive rebounds by the Pistons at the end of the game was just a killer. This loss was frustrating not only because we could have closed the deal on our home floor but we have to play a Game 7 in Detroit, who has all the momentum now. Sure, we beat them on their court in Game 5 but it makes it that much more difficult to do it two straight times. Win or go home!

Rewind your internal calendars to a week ago. The Cavaliers were staring at a 2-0 deficit after getting beaten handily by the Detroit Pistons in the first two games in the series. Anyone who bet on the Cavs winning the next three, when Detroit hadn’t lost three games in a row all season, sure would be a pretty rich man by now. After Game 2, nobody, including those in Cleveland, gave the Cavaliers a chance to win the series, let alone win another game. However, the Wine and Gold have done the unthinkable and have taken the lead in the series with an 86-84 nailbiter in Motown Wednesday night.

LeBron led the charge with 32 points and had 5 assists. His biggest dish came in the final minute when he passed to Drew Gooden in the paint for the game-winning bucket. Tayshaun Prince attempted a driving runner but was rejected by Donyell Marshall, who finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds. The Cavs built a 10-point lead midway through the third quarter but the Pistons battled back to close to gap to two to start the fourth quarter. The Cavaliers once again toughened up defensively in the clutch and never allowed the Pistons to take the lead.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas finally woke up temporarily from a month-long nap and contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds, before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Varejao again had an outstanding game, taking charges and elbows in the face all night long.

The Cavaliers have given the Pistons a taste of their own medicine the last three games with aggressiveness, hustle, and strong late-game defense. Cleveland is playing like a former championship team right now, not the Pistons. The James Gang has constantly given LB support even when the young star has not been on his “A” game. Everyone seems to know their role on the team and are playing like they’ve been there before. The Cavaliers and their fans are witnessing something extremely special.

“Everybody wrote us off, but we started to get some confidence in the second half of Game 2 and we’ve just kept it going,” Cavs reserve Damon Jones said.

No, Cavalier fans, this is not a dream. We have a chance to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals Friday night. Let “The Q” rock!