Cavs close gap but not enough to beat Detroit

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- LeBron James prevented the Detroit Pistons from cruising to a second straight rout.

Cleveland's star just couldn't do enough to even the series.

James scored 23 of his 30 points in the second half, but Rasheed Wallace scored 29 points and Tayshaun Prince had 20 to lead Detroit to a 97-91 victory over Cleveland on Tuesday night -- and a 2-0 lead in their second-round series.

James didn't reach double figures until midway through the third quarter, and then led the Cavs on a fourth-quarter run.

Cleveland pulled to 87-78 after a 10-2 run before Ben Wallace made a fadeaway shot off his own miss and Rasheed Wallace followed with a 3-pointer, forcing the Cavs to call a timeout down by 14 points with 4:31 left.

James' three-point play made it 92-87 with 1:13 left, but Richard Hamilton scored a three-point play on the ensuing possession.

For three-plus quarters, it didn't look like there was much James or the Cavs, who advanced in the playoffs for the first time since 1993, could do against the two-time defending Eastern Conference champions at either end of the court.

After leading by just two points, Detroit took control of Game 2 with a 13-0 run late in the first quarter and early in the second. The burst got to 19-3 and the Pistons led 37-18 before the Cavs ended a field-goal drought that lasted more than 7 minutes.