**Pistons at Cavs**
-- Just when you thought Detroit was going to pull out the broom and sweep Cleveland, the Cavaliers rally in Game 3 for a much-needed victory over the Pistons, 86-77. LeBron James continued his heroics, compiling a triple-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
-- Another solid effort came from the Cavs’ bench, who outscored Detroit’s reserves 28-9. Brazilian product Anderson Varegao led the charge with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting.
-- Cavs’ head coach Mike Brown and company cut the series deficit to 2-1 and finally got a solid defensive performance in front of their home fans.
-- Detroit shot 39 percent from the field and turned the ball over 16 times. To hold the Pistons below the 80-point plateau is a major accomplishment in itself, since it was just the fourth time that Flip Saunders’ team was held below this mark.
-- Richard Hamilton led the Pistons with 22 points in the losing effort, while forwards Rasheed Wallace struggled with 11 points on 3-of-11 shooting.
-- The Pistons were outscored by 17 points (52-35) in the second half, including a 33-spot by the Cavs in the final 12 minutes. The 33 points was the second-highest points allowed by Detroit in a quarter during the postseason. Milwaukee was one-point (34) better in its lone first round victory.
-- Flip said it mid-way through the season that the only thing stopping his team is themselves. They go through the motions and toy with teams – Saturday’s effort resembling those words. The question remains, will it happen again?
-- If you look at the numbers, it’s doubtful. Detroit has only lost back-to-back games on two different occasions through the season. The first time was in a 99-98 setback to Atlanta, where the Hawks Joe Johnson drilled a jumper with a few ticks left. Oh yeah, this also came after the league announced that four Pistons earned All Star honors. The second time the club dropped two in a row came in the final two games of the season, when starters saw less minutes than reserves.
-- Apparently oddsmakers don’t expect this series to get knotted Monday, listing Detroit as a healthy 5 ½-point road ‘chalk’ in Game 4. The total dropped a few points from 186 to 183, probably in large part to the combined 163 points in Saturday’s tilt.
-- Keep in mind, even the first two games of this series went ‘over’, but the ‘under’ had cashed in the previous 10 meetings between the Pistons and Cavs.
-- For those of you who think the Cavs can even up the series, then take a peek at the 2/1 (Bet $100 to win $200) odds on the money-line. Cleveland’s triumph in Game 3 pushed its record to 3-1 against the spread as a home underdog.
-- Tip off for this contest is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST, with TNT offering national coverage.
-- Game 5 head back to The Palace of Auburn Hills, which is slated for Wednesday.
-- Just when you thought Detroit was going to pull out the broom and sweep Cleveland, the Cavaliers rally in Game 3 for a much-needed victory over the Pistons, 86-77. LeBron James continued his heroics, compiling a triple-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
-- Another solid effort came from the Cavs’ bench, who outscored Detroit’s reserves 28-9. Brazilian product Anderson Varegao led the charge with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting.
-- Cavs’ head coach Mike Brown and company cut the series deficit to 2-1 and finally got a solid defensive performance in front of their home fans.
-- Detroit shot 39 percent from the field and turned the ball over 16 times. To hold the Pistons below the 80-point plateau is a major accomplishment in itself, since it was just the fourth time that Flip Saunders’ team was held below this mark.
-- Richard Hamilton led the Pistons with 22 points in the losing effort, while forwards Rasheed Wallace struggled with 11 points on 3-of-11 shooting.
-- The Pistons were outscored by 17 points (52-35) in the second half, including a 33-spot by the Cavs in the final 12 minutes. The 33 points was the second-highest points allowed by Detroit in a quarter during the postseason. Milwaukee was one-point (34) better in its lone first round victory.
-- Flip said it mid-way through the season that the only thing stopping his team is themselves. They go through the motions and toy with teams – Saturday’s effort resembling those words. The question remains, will it happen again?
-- If you look at the numbers, it’s doubtful. Detroit has only lost back-to-back games on two different occasions through the season. The first time was in a 99-98 setback to Atlanta, where the Hawks Joe Johnson drilled a jumper with a few ticks left. Oh yeah, this also came after the league announced that four Pistons earned All Star honors. The second time the club dropped two in a row came in the final two games of the season, when starters saw less minutes than reserves.
-- Apparently oddsmakers don’t expect this series to get knotted Monday, listing Detroit as a healthy 5 ½-point road ‘chalk’ in Game 4. The total dropped a few points from 186 to 183, probably in large part to the combined 163 points in Saturday’s tilt.
-- Keep in mind, even the first two games of this series went ‘over’, but the ‘under’ had cashed in the previous 10 meetings between the Pistons and Cavs.
-- For those of you who think the Cavs can even up the series, then take a peek at the 2/1 (Bet $100 to win $200) odds on the money-line. Cleveland’s triumph in Game 3 pushed its record to 3-1 against the spread as a home underdog.
-- Tip off for this contest is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST, with TNT offering national coverage.
-- Game 5 head back to The Palace of Auburn Hills, which is slated for Wednesday.