Rd 2 Gm 1: Pistons massacre Cavs, 113-86

[Matt]

VS


Pistons win 113-86

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- When LeBron James had the ball, he saw Detroit Pistons defenders to his left, to his right, and straight ahead.

The Pistons also had James seeing triple at the other end of the court.

Detroit made 10 3-pointers in the first half -- one shy of an NBA playoff record -- to open up a 21-point lead at halftime before cruising to a 113-86 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday in Game 1 of their second-round series.

The Pistons finished with a franchise playoff-record 15 3-pointers, on 22 attempts, and missed only one of their 11 attempts beyond the arc before halftime.

"They're going to sweep the rest of the playoffs if they shoot like that and win the NBA championship," James said. "We shot 50 percent and had only six turnovers in the first half and were down 22. It's hard to explain that."

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James scored all of his 22 points in the first half, but the 21-year-old star had to work for each one. Triple-teamed at times, James was forced to take difficult shots or defer to teammates who didn't respond by making shots of their own.

"The team has to be in a zone situation behind me," said Tayshaun Prince, who led Detroit's "LeBron Rules" defense.

James didn't play in the fourth quarter after he was held scoreless in the third while the Pistons built a 30-point lead.

Prince made James work on defense, too, scoring 24 points and tying his playoff record.

The two-time defending Eastern Conference champions turned the game into a rout with a franchise playoff-record 43 points in the second quarter against a team in the second round for the first time since 1993.

The Pistons had four double-figure scorers in the first half alone, including reserves Antonio McDyess and Lindsey Hunter. Both had 12 at halftime -- outscoring every Cavs player not named James in the first half.

Richard Hamilton scored 20, Chauncey Billups had 14 points and 10 assists and Rasheed Wallace added 10 points and seven rebounds.

Detroit Pistons center Ben Wallace blocks a shot in front of Cleveland Cavaliers guard Larry Hughes during the fourth quarter in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference NBA basketball semifinal series at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Mich., Sunday, May 7, 2006. The Pistons defeated the Cavaliers 113-86.
AP - May 7, 6:30 pm EDT
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Ben Wallace, the NBA Defensive Player of the Year according to an Associated Press source, had 11 rebounds and four blocks for the Pistons.

Cleveland's Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 14 points after a poor series against Washington in the first round. The Cavs, who didn't have a third double-digit scorer until the fourth quarter, got 11 points from Anderson Varejao.

The Cavs played about 40 hours after their Game 6 win at Washington in overtime, flying home and then to suburban Detroit. Meanwhile, the Pistons had a day off and two days of practices after eliminating Milwaukee in five games.

"It was up to us to jump out early after the first round they had," Prince said. "I think they had some tired legs."

The Cavs began the game with some fight, leading 12-7 and being tied late in the first quarter. Detroit went on a 10-0 run over the last 1:57 of the first quarter -- helped by James' two turnovers -- to take a 26-16 lead.

Cleveland was still hanging around, by NBA standards, trailing by 14 until the Pistons closed another quarter in dominating fashion. Hunter made three 3-pointers in just under a minute and McDyess closed the 11-4 run to put the Pistons ahead 69-48 at halftime.

"This team already has a lot of confidence," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "When they go on runs like that at the end of quarters, they tend to pounce on you."

Detroit went up 32 in the third quarter and emptied its bench midway through the fourth with a 37-point lead.

"Thank goodness the outcome of the series doesn't have anything to do with point differential," Brown said.

The Pistons will host Game 2 on Tuesday night in the best-of-seven series.

Series Schedule

Game 1: at DET
Pistons 113, Cavs 86

Game 2: at DET
Tue, May 9 - 7:00 pm EDT
TV: TNT

Game 3: at CLE
Sat, May 13 - 8:00 pm EDT
TV: ABC

Game 4: at CLE
Mon, May 15 - 7:00 pm EDT
TV: TNT

*Game 5: at DET
Wed, May 17 - TBA
TV: TNT

*Game 6: at CLE
Fri, May 19 - TBA
TV: ESPN

*Game 7: at DET
Sun, May 21 - 3:30 pm EDT
TV: ABC

* - If necessary

[UxKa]

just what i wanted to see


but tuesday -----> saturday? horrible.

[Kstat]

ABC told the NBA they don't want the Cavs to play their saturday matinee home game in a possible 0-3 hole.

That'd be funnier if it wasn't true.

[Black Dynamite]

ABC told the NBA they don't want the Cavs to play their saturday matinee home game in a possible 0-3 hole.

That'd be funnier if it wasn't true.

so we're battling stern and the refs next game?

[Kstat]

ABC told the NBA they don't want the Cavs to play their saturday matinee home game in a possible 0-3 hole.

That'd be funnier if it wasn't true.

so we're battling stern and the refs next game?

The NBA already ensured the Cavs wont play saturday in an 0-3 hole. We're good.

[Matt]

that Tayshaun block on Lebron....then the Ben block on Hughes....we need video of that STAT.

[Matt]

Ben Wallace guarding LeBron.......thoughts?

Tayshaun was clearly not strong enough to guard LeBron when he drove to the lane. At least Ben has quickness to stay somewhat close to lebron and the strength to body him up when he drives. did Flip play that card during the regular season? i can't remember.....

also, there seemed to be a few new plays at the beginning of the game that led to some wide open shots. i remember Flip talking about "hiding" some stuff for the playoffs.....i'd imagine he's got even more tricks up his sleeve as the playoffs go on.

[Kstat]

We're fine as we are.

Make LeBron work for his points and shut everyone else down. We do that, and we're in good shape.

If it comes down to one last stop, then yes, Ben Wallace would be a good idea.

[Tahoe]

The game was sweet. Very enjoyable.

Did Brown make ONE adjustment? I was in and out, but tivo'd it, have to check it out closer. I didn't see much. We'll see if he has anything up his sleeve in game 2.

It seems having the best record during the regular season has paid off. Don't want to jinx this series early, but playing Cleveland is the best out of any 2nd round opponents.

Cleveland will be out coached, they don't have the talent we have, we are playing to get our title back, etc etc etc. Not sure when the last sweep was in a second round series but this has the makings.

[Uncle Mxy]

Did Brown make ONE adjustment? I was in and out, but tivo'd it, have to check it out closer. I didn't see much. We'll see if he has anything up his sleeve in game 2.

To be fair, what sort of adjustments could he have made?