Cavaliers even series with Pistons at 2-2

CLEVELAND -- Rasheed Wallace's defiant prediction of a Detroit victory backfired when LeBron James scored 22 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Pistons 74-72 to even their second-round series 2-2 on Monday night.

Following Detroit's loss in Game 3, Wallace had pledged the Pistons would not only win Game 4, but that the Cavaliers would be playing in front of their fans for the last time this season. Well, Cleveland has at least one more at home after winning its second straight over the favored Eastern Conference champs.

With Wallace watching from the bench with a sprained ankle, James made two free throws -- the last with 1.3 seconds left -- and the Pistons threw away their final inbounds pass.

James added nine assists and eight rebounds, narrowly missing his third triple-double of the postseason. Eric Snow had 12 points -- 10 after halftime -- and Anderson Varejao had 10 points and drew a key foul late in the game.

Richard Hamilton scored 30 points and Tayshaun Prince 16 for the Pistons.