Cavs huff, puff, snare 3-2 lead

Series heads to Cleveland

? All series long, the Detroit Pistons huffed and puffed. On Wednesday night, it was LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers who blew their house in.

A stunning role reversal on the Cavs’ fairy tale ride?

Maybe not.

“It’s just basketball,” James said. “They’re not the Big, Bad Wolf. And we’re not the Three Little Pigs.”

James scored 32 points and assisted on Drew Gooden’s game-winning shot to lead the Cavs to an 86-84 victory over Detroit – their third straight win en route to a 3-2 lead in the second-round series.

The Pistons, on the brink of elimination after two straight trips to the NBA Finals, have not been giving much respect to the Cavs, who are in the second round for the first time since 1993.

That should change now, but will it be too late for the big, bad Pistons?

Game 6 in the best-of-seven series is Friday night in Cleveland, and if the Pistons force a Game 7, they will be back on their home court Sunday.

“LeBron is playing unbelievably, and they’re playing with a lot of confidence,” Detroit coach Flip Saunders said. “But it doesn’t mean the series is over, we just have to revert to what we did for much of the season.”

Spurs 98, Mavericks 97

San Antonio – Just when it seemed the series couldn’t get any more amazing or intense, the closing seconds of a thrilling Game 5 ratcheted everything up another level.

And thanks to Tim Duncan, there will be a Game 6.

Duncan tied an NBA postseason record by making his first 12 shots and scored 36 points, Tony Parker scored 27, and the Spurs withstood losing two jump balls in the final 6.3 seconds to keep their title defense alive.

San Antonio shot better than 60 percent in the fourth quarter.

Late Tuesday game

Suns 125, Clippers 118, 2 OT

Phoenix – A long, long night for Shawn Marion and a dramatic three-pointer by Raja Bell put Phoenix one victory away from a second straight trip to the Western Conference finals.

Marion had 36 points and a career playoff-high 20 rebounds in 54 grueling minutes.