James, Cavaliers Rise to Occasion

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — All series long, the Detroit Pistons huffed and puffed. On Wednesday night, it was LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers who blew their house in with an 86-84 victory to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.

A stunning role reversal on the Cavaliers’ fairy tale ride?

Maybe not.

“It’s just basketball,” said James, who had 32 points. “They’re not the Big, Bad Wolf. And we’re not the Three Little Pigs.”

The Pistons, on the brink of elimination after two straight trips to the NBA Finals, have not given much respect to the Cavaliers. That should change now.

“LeBron is playing unbelievably, and they’re playing with a lot of confidence,” Detroit Coach Flip Saunders said. “But it doesn’t mean the series is over, we just have to revert to what we did for much of the season.”

Ben Wallace blew a chance to put Detroit ahead for the first time since early in the second quarter when he missed two free throws with 40 seconds left. That left one of the NBA’s worst free-throw shooters 0 for 7 in the game, which stayed tied, 84-84.

James passed to Drew Gooden for a layup on the next possession to put the Cavaliers ahead by two with 27 seconds left.

After a timeout, Donyell Marshall blocked Tayshaun Prince on a drive and James tipped a rebound -- off Lindsey Hunter’s missed jump shot -- to teammate Eric Snow, who tossed the ball down court to kill time.

The Pistons, however, retrieved it and called a timeout with 1.9 seconds left, but could not get off a final shot.

“That was about as perfect a game of basketball as you can play against that team,” Marshall said.

Prince scored 21 points, Chauncey Billups had 17 before fouling out and Richard Hamilton had 15 for Detroit.

Detroit hopes to draw from its postseason experience. Before the Pistons beat the Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals, they fell behind New Jersey, 3-2 -- with three straight losses -- before winning on the road and at home to advance to the conference finals.

“I’m still not concerned because I know what we’re capable of,” Billups said. “We’ve been there before.

“We can’t be looking for a Game 7, because if you’re not careful, there won’t be [a Game 7].”