Pistons pull even with 76ers

A dash of perfection was exactly what Detroit needed to go from the brink of a disastrous deficit to back in control of the best-of-seven series.

All it took was 12 minutes.

Tayshaun Prince scored 23 points and made all but one shot from the field, and the Pistons played with a purpose and dominated the second half to beat the host Philadelphia 76ers, 93-84, Sunday night, tying the Eastern Conference playoff series at 2-2.

“Everybody knows that we are good under pressure,” said guard Chauncey Billups said. “I hate that we put ourselves in this position a lot of times.”

The Pistons squashed all that chatter about heading home with a series deficit, erasing a 10-point halftime deficit by outscoring the 76ers, 34-16, in the third quarter.

That combined four-of-14 first half from Billups and Rasheed Wallace? Forgotten after they made consecutive three-point baskets in the period. Prince -- 11 of 12 from the floor -- followed with a baseline layup to cap an 11-0 spurt and give the Pistons their first lead of the game, 47-46.

“The game turned just like that,” 76ers Coach Maurice Cheeks said. “We gave them life and we gave them life in the third quarter.”

Wallace finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds and Billups scored 18 points.

Detroit’s Antonio McDyess did not start but scored 10 points a day after he had surgery to repair a broken nose.

Samuel Dalembert had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the 76ers. Andre Miller and Willie Green each scored 13 points.

Philadelphia leading scorer Andre Iguodala continued to struggle, scoring 12 points on four-of-16 shooting.

Cleveland 100, Washington 97 -- LeBron James had 34 points and 12 rebounds before drawing waves of Wizards defenders and passing to Delonte West for a tiebreaking three-pointer with 5.4 seconds left to give the visiting Cavaliers a commanding 3-1 lead in the rugged and feisty series.

Gilbert Arenas missed a final shot for the Wizards.

“There’s been some extracurricular activities going on outside and inside this series,” James said, “but I’ve been able to stay focused.”

The Wizards were ahead by one point with 3 1/2 minutes left in the first half when James drove to the basket, and DeShawn Stevenson came from behind and fouled him with what James called a closed fist.

“If we was on the park, something definitely would have escalated,” James said. “But, you know, I guess that’s what they want to do. They want to hurt LeBron James this series. It ain’t working.”

Stevenson’s take?

“That’s how it goes,” he said. “It was a big game for us.”

Antawn Jamison led Washington with 23 points and 11 rebounds, but they now face elimination Wednesday by the Cavaliers for the third straight postseason.