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Pistons remain Best Team in Central
Division
The Detroit
Pistons maintained a four-game lead in the Eastern Conference standings
with an 87-82 victory Sunday over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Unlike the
previous match-up, the potentially lethal, Lebron James was limited
offensively. He shot 5-of-16, finishing with 20 points, six assists
and five rebounds for the Cavaliers.
This time
around, the Pistons opted to double team James, forcing five turnovers
and frequent perimeter shooting.
The Pistons
finished with six players in double figures. Richard Hamilton had
21, bouncing back from a season low, three points, against the Chicago
Bulls.
Hamilton
and the Pistons obtained a six-point lead going into the fourth
quarter, but the Cavaliers managed to tie the game with 3.47 left.
Billups
provided an important assist and six of his 14 points in the last
three minutes of regulation to give the Pistons an edge.
James missed
two free throws while trailing by four with 37.4 seconds on the
clock. The cavaliers then waited 20 seconds before committing a
foul on Antonio McDyess.
McDyess,
who replaced Rasheed Wallace in the starting line up, continued
his red-hot streak, finishing with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Wallace
added 10 bench points.
The Cavaliers
finished with all five starters in double figures, but struggled
down the stretch. Zydrunas Ilgauskas finished with 15 points. Sasha
Pavlovic scored 11 of his 14 in the first half and Drew Gooden added
10 points and 12 rebounds.
The Pistons
won the series 3-1 over the Cavaliers. They have six games left
on their regular-season schedule beginning with the New York Knicks
on Monday.
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Click
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