Cavaliers pull even with Pistons

The kid came up big. LeBron James did too.

And the Cleveland Cavaliers are as close as they’ve ever been to the NBA Finals.

James scored 25 points -- 13 in the fourth quarter -- and rookie Daniel Gibson had a season-high 21 as the Cavaliers evened the Eastern Conference finals with a 91-87 victory over the Detroit Pistons in Game 4 Tuesday night.

The 21-year-old Gibson made 12 of 12 free throws, Drew Gooden had 19 points and Eric Snow made a crucial free throw in the final seconds as the Cavaliers moved within two victories of their first trip to the Finals.

They’ll have to win at least once in Detroit to get there.

James, criticized for his fourth-quarter failures in Games 1 and 2 at Detroit, had a virtuoso-like performance in the last 12 minutes. He went four for six from the field, five for five from the free-throw line and had four rebounds and three assists.

“I told my teammates, ‘Get me to the fourth and it’s close, and I’ll try my best to win,’ ” James said.

Game 5 is Thursday night at Auburn Hills, Mich., with Game 6 at Cleveland on Saturday.

The Cavaliers, who lost a seven-game series to Detroit last year, are making only their third visit to the conference finals and each time they’ve been tied 2-2 before losing in six games.

Chauncey Billups scored 23 points and Richard Hamilton 19 for the Pistons, who are suddenly the team looking for answers.

“We haven’t played our A-game yet and hopefully it’s coming soon,” Billups said.

Their frustration boiled over in the fourth when Rasheed Wallace was whistled for a technical foul during Cleveland’s 9-0 run for throwing his headband.

It was Wallace’s fifth of the playoffs.

A player is suspended for one game after the seventh playoff technical foul and suspended again for every other technical afterward.

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers also got an emotional lift from Larry Hughes, who played 17 minutes despite a painful foot sprain.