Cleveland ? LeBron James is back home, where he almost always makes the impossible look routine.

Coming off two heartbreaking losses in Detroit, James and his teammates hope they can repeat their performance of a year ago when they face the Pistons in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals tonight.

In last year’s semifinals, the Cavaliers were down 2-0 before winning three straight – Games 3 and 4 at home – to push the Pistons to the brink of elimination. Now, Cleveland’s players are banking on that experience to give them an edge.

“We’ve been here before,” James said. “That’s the best thing that could happen to us. We’ve been in this situation, so we know how to react to it. We should know what to do.”

After going 30-11 at home during the regular season, and 4-1 at the Q so far during the playoffs, the Cavaliers feel good about their chances of slicing Detroit’s series lead in half.

“We’re confident that we can get it done, but it won’t be easy,” center Zydrunas Ilgauskas said. “But just because we’re at home we can’t think we don’t have to show up. If we do that, we can easily be down three before we know it.”

Despite dropping the series’ first two games, the Cavaliers insist the losses were confidence builders. They know they can go 48 minutes with the playoff ripened Pistons, who are appearing in their fifth consecutive conference final.

Games 1 and 2 were rough – elbows flew, bodies flopped and most of uncontested shots came during warmups. Like last May’s semifinals, Detroit’s intensity caught the Cavaliers by surprise at the outset. They weren’t ready for it, and the Pistons made them pay.

“We’re definitely prepared for it now,” Cavs forward Donyell Marshall said.