Cavs, Pistons clash in Game 4 of East finals

After losing the first two games of the series at The Palace of Auburn Hills, the Cavaliers returned home and picked up a much needed win in Game 3. LeBron James poured in 32 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out nine assists to lead No. 2 Cleveland to an 88-82 win over the top-seeded Pistons at Quicken Loans Arena.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 16 points and seven boards for the Cavaliers, while Sasha Pavlovic scored 13 and Drew Gooden finished with 12 points for Cleveland.

Rasheed Wallace led the Pistons with 16 points, and Chris Webber scored 15 points and pulled down seven rebounds for Detroit. Chauncey Billups and Tayshaun Prince added 13 points each for the Pistons.

Cleveland guard Larry Hughes (torn plantar fascia in left foot) is doubtful for tonight’s contest. The 6-5 Hughes suffered the injury in the first quarter of Game 3. Hughes is averaging 14.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game in the postseason.

Game 5 of this best-of-seven series is scheduled for Thursday at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Detroit, which is 4-2 as the visitor in the postseason, has lost three of its last four Game 4s in the playoffs, while the Cavaliers have won three straight Game 4s and are 2-0 all-time in the fourth game of the East finals.

The Pistons are 18-0 when they win the first two games of a playoff series, while the Cavaliers, who are 5-1 as the host in this year’s postseason, are 0-10 when they drop Games 1 and 2 in a series.

This is the second time that these teams have met in the postseason. Last year, the Pistons knocked out Cleveland in seven games in the East semis. The Cavaliers led the series 3-2, but lost Game 6, 84-82, at home and were then eliminated in Game 7, 79-61, at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

The Pistons have made it to the Eastern Conference finals for the fifth straight year and 10th time in franchise history. They played Boston in 1987 and 1988, Chicago in 1989, 1990 and 1991, New Jersey in 2003, Indiana in 2004 and Miami in 2005 and 2006. Detroit is 5-4 in this round.

Detroit won its fifth Central Division title in the past six seasons during the 2006-07 campaign. The Pistons, who have reached the postseason for a sixth straight year, fell in six games against the Heat in last year’s Eastern Conference finals. The Pistons are the No. 1 seed for the third time in four years and have owned home-court advantage throughout the East playoffs.

In round one, the Pistons swept Dwight Howard and No. 8 Orlando, 4-0. The conference semifinals proved to be a tougher, as the fifth-seeded Bulls pushed Detroit to six games.

Cleveland has made it to the Eastern Conference finals for the third time in franchise history, and is 0-2 in this round. The Cavaliers fell in six games to Boston in 1976 and the Bulls in 1992.

The Cavaliers earned their first sweep in franchise history in the opening round of this year’s playoffs, as they knocked out No. 7 Washington, 4-0. In the East semis, Cleveland needed six games to eliminate Jason Kidd and the sixth-seeded Nets.