Pistons host Cavs for Game 5 of East semis

This series is tied at two games apiece. Game 6 of this best-of-seven set is scheduled for Friday at Quicken Loans Arena.

On Monday, LeBron James overcame a poor shooting performance to lead the fourth-seeded Cavaliers to a hard-fought 74-72 win over the top-seeded Pistons in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinal set at Quicken Loans Arena.

James was just 8-for-23 from the floor and 5-of-10 from the line, as he ended with 22 points, eight rebounds and nine assists for the Cavaliers, who improved to 4-1 at home in the postseason.

Veteran point guard Eric Snow finished with 12 points for Cleveland, while Anderson Varejao netted 10 in the victory.

Richard Hamilton poured in a game-high 30 points in the loss for the Pistons, while Tayshaun Prince scored 16 and Chauncey Billups contributed 11 points and seven assists in defeat.

Detroit, which won Games 1 and 2 of this series at The Palace and are 5-0 at home in this year’s playoffs, has won five of its last seven Game 5s in the postseason, while the Cavaliers have won two straight Game 5s.

Cleveland has never comeback from a 2-0 deficit to win a playoff series, while the Pistons have never lost a set after winning Games 1 and 2.

The Pistons, who are in the playoffs for the fifth straight season, captured the Central Division and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs because of their franchise-best 64 victories during the regular season.

Detroit has reached at least the conference semifinals for a fifth straight year. It was eliminated in five games by Boston in the 2002 semis, lost in four to New Jersey in the 2003 conference finals, defeated the Lakers in five to capture the NBA title in 2004 and fell in seven games to San Antonio in last year’s championship round.

Cleveland won its first playoff series since 1993 in the first round, as it knocked off Gilbert Arenas and the fifth-seeded Washington Wizards in six tough contests. In 1993, the Cavaliers defeated the New Jersey Nets in five games, 3-2, in the first round. They would go on to be swept in four games by Chicago in the conference semifinals.

The Cavaliers are 2-1 all-time in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Cavs defeated Washington in seven games in 1976 and beat Boston in seven in 1992. They were ousted by the Bulls in 1993.

This is the first time that these teams have met in the postseason.