NBA

Pistons, Spurs back from edge

By TIMES WIRES
Published May 20, 2006

CLEVELAND - No team lives on the edge like the Pistons, the NBA's best squad when things couldn't be worse.

Minutes away from witnessing their spectacular season come crashing down, the Pistons stepped up like champions.

Summoning all their postseason experience and making all the big plays down the stretch, the Pistons beat the Cavaliers 84-82 on Friday to even their series 3-3 and force Game 7.

"We know what it takes," Detroit's Ben Wallace said. "We've been together a while. We don't panic."

The Pistons' biggest win of 2006 wasn't secure until the final tick of the clock, when a free throw intentionally missed by LeBron James was nearly tipped in by Detroit's Chauncey Billups.

"I got my hand on it, and I almost made the basket for them," Billups said. "When it was in the air, I was like, "Wow, not like this."

Game 7 will be Sunday in Auburn Hills, Mich., where until Game 5 of this series, the Pistons had looked invincible.

"I can't wait to get to play in our building again because it's going to be crazy in there," Richard Hamilton said.

LeBron James finished with 32 points, but Cleveland's superstar had seven turnovers, and he and his teammates weren't able to beat the Pistons to loose balls in the final three minutes.

DALLAS - Michael Finley hit back against the Mavericks as the Spurs remain alive with a 91-86 victory.

After absorbing the low blow that got Dallas guard Jason Terry suspended, Finley ignored the taunts from the Mavs fans and scored 16 to help force Game 7.

Finley made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:45 left - and Dallas' 7-foot star Dirk Nowitzki running at him. Finley then defended Nowitzki on a missed 3 that could've tied it with 6.9 seconds left. The off-balanced shot landed well short.

With two fresh tear-drop tattoos falling from his left eye, Larry Hughes honored his dead brother the way he always has: through basketball.

Hughes rejoined the Cavaliers on Friday night after missing three games because of his 20-year-old brother Justin's death.

After speaking with his mother, Hughes chose to return. "She wanted me to do what my brother would have wanted," said Hughes, who dressed but did not play.

Phoenix will host a Los Angeles team, the Clippers, in a Game 7 for the second time this postseason. The Suns, who became the eighth team to overcome a 3-1 deficit in winning their opening series against the Lakers, are the second team in playoff history to play seven games in the first two rounds. Dallas went the limit in beating Portland and Sacramento to reach the Western final in 2003. The home team has a 76-17 advantage in Game 7s.

The WNBA celebrates the beginning of its 10th season today, as the defending champion Sacramento Monarchs receive their rings and hoist their banner in a ceremony before the season opener against the Phoenix Mercury.

[Last modified May 20, 2006, 01:58:12]