From my humble little vantage point, it appears that a little bit of home cooking did a certain LeBron James quite a lot of good. The Cavs' superstar shot a return salvo at his critics with his 32 point, 9 rebound, and 9 assist performance in Cleveland's 88-82 defeat of the Detroit Pistons. The victory trims Detroit's series lead to just two games to Cleveland's one, and with good reason many Detroit fans are beginning to grow concerned that the Pistons have once again taken their foot off the proverbial gas pedal.
Let's be honest though. LeBron James, while impressive, was far from the only thorn sticking into the Pistons' collective side throughout Game Three. The Cavaliers' shooters made their first legitimate appearances as an entire supporting cast, allowing James the additional freedom that lets great players work their craft. Sasha Pavlovic's great shot selection netted him 13 points, Ilgauskas and Gooden chipped in with 16 and 12 respectively, and Daniel Gibson hit some key long distance jumpers that kept the pistons from focusing exclusively on James.
Let's talk about King James though. His statistics, excellent as they are, show little of how he took Cleveland on his back and would not permit them to let this lead get away from them. James has been criticized a good deal lately for his lack of late game heroics, culminating in the blistering he got after this series' Game One. And perhaps rightfully so. But James, intentionally or not, answered those calls tonight, never failing to take the fate of the Cavs on his shoulders down the stretch. His 3-pointer with 2:34 was the juncture at which I started thinking Cleveland might claw their way home. Then, for good measure, he hit another pretty jumper with seconds left to close the lid on Detroit's chances of a sweep. I needn’t waste words over the dunk he put in Rasheed Wallace's back yard with about 7 minutes left; the ESPN highlight reel or Youtube is all that can do that justice.
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Article comments
1 - RJ
Good article.
I don't think the Cavs really proved anything, though. The Pistons still nearly won the game (they led after three quarters), on the road, despite Lebron's superb performance, and despite Billups and Hamilton going a combined 6-22 from the floor with a total of 20 points and 7 turnovers. Billups and Hamilton are simply not going to play that poorly for the rest of this series.
I still say Pistons in 5 or 6...
2 - Jared Wright
Some credit for the Detroit perimeter's poor performance has to be given to Cleveland. Billups and Hamilton didn't just struggle in Game 3; Hamilton only really looked himself in Game 1, and Billups hasn't looked himself all series if you can look passed him making a few shots at the most opportune of times. I really think Cleveland has outplayed Detroit at least two of the three games so far and have only lost because of failing to make the plays in the end that decide things. But if you look at the entire 144 minutes of basketball so far, I think Cleveland has been a better basketball team. They've just fallen plague to a missed three pointer that's wide open or a no-call or letting Billups hit that crucial jumper when you've contained him all night. And I think they'll continue to play Detroit close, maybe win a couple more games, and take it to seven. I just see them falling short down the stretch of a Game 7 on the road.