Playoffs results
AUBURN HILLS (NBA) - LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers were taught a lesson about what it takes to win a Game Seven in the NBA post-season.
Flashing their trademark defense to slow down Team USA star James in the second half while shutting down the rest of his team-mates the entire way, the Pistons grinded out a 79-61 victory over the Cavaliers in the decisive seventh game of the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
Tayshaun Prince scored 20 points and Richard Hamilton 15 for the top-seeded Pistons, who won the final two games of the series to advance to the conference finals for the fourth straight season.
"It was just will," said Pistons guard Chauncey Billups, also a member of the 23-man preliminary Team USA squad for the FIBA World Championship in Japan.
Billups had 12 points and eight rebounds.
"Anytime you get to a Game Seven, it's just will. You're not going to trick them with anything you do, they're not going to trick us with any plays. We know them inside out."
Playing their fourth Game Seven in the last three seasons, the Pistons used a tenacious defensive effort in the second half to finally shake the fourth-seeded Cavaliers, who were not even expected to be in a decisive game against the NBA's best team during the regular season.
"That's a group that has been there and done that, and they played a great series," Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. "This was a learning experience for LeBron and for all of us."
In the second half, the Pistons held the Cavaliers to just 23 points, tying the lowest mark in a second half in play-off history.
Utah scored 23 points against Chicago in Game Three of the 1998 NBA Finals.
Cleveland shot just 19% (five of 26) after the break, when Detroit showed their championship mettle.
"In a pressure situation, you do what you do best, and for us, that's defending," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. "We locked down."
The 61 points was the lowest mark in a Game Seven in NBA history and the third-lowest total all-time.
The inexperienced Cavs were carried to the decisive game by the 21-year-old James, who had been brilliant throughout his first post-season.
"There's nobody on his level that can get his team-mates involved like he does," Prince said of James. "He sees the plays before they even happen, and no one else does that. That's the reason this went seven games."
James got off to a strong start in the biggest game of his young career, scoring 21 of his 27 points in the first half that ended with the Pistons holding a 40-38 lead.
However, the Pistons' constant double-teams finally began to take their toll on James, who missed his first seven shots and went just one of nine from the floor in the second half.
James made 11 of 24 shots overall and never really got any help from the rest of his teammates who went a combined nine of 41 from the floor.
"They came at me as soon as I came across halfcourt, and being the person I am and the player I am, I had to give the ball up," James said. "They did a great job."
James acknowledged that his team missed their opportunity in Game Six in Cleveland.
"You have to take positives out of this," James said. "There's no reason for us to hang our heads about this series. I'm disappointed that we lost, because we had it right there for the taking, especially at home, but things happen. That's why Detroit worked so hard all year for home-court advantage."
James will now take a rest before he turns his attention to Japan where he will play for Team USA at the FIBA World Championship.
The United States are in Group D with China, Italy, Puerto Rico, Senegal and Slovenia.
By PA Sport, Exclusively for FIBA