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Pistons-Cavaliers Preview

Mar 20, 2010 - 5:16 PM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

Detroit (23-46) at Cleveland (55-15), 6:00 p.m. EDT

LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers may be on the verge of a rare sweep of the Detroit Pistons, but the wins haven't come easily.

James and the Cavaliers look to complete their first season sweep of the visiting Pistons in 30 years when the Central Division rivals meet Sunday night.

Cleveland (55-15) last swept Detroit (23-46) when it went 6-0 in 1979-80. The Cavaliers have won 10 straight against the Pistons, including last year's first-round playoff series.

James is averaging 34.3 points, 11.0 rebounds and 8.3 assists in three victories this season, but Cleveland has trailed after three quarters in the last two this month. He was the catalyst in a 38-point fourth quarter in Tuesday's 113-101 win at Detroit.

"We have a lot of history with this team," James told the NBA's official Web site.

There were 10 lead changes and 21 ties, the last one with 4:44 left. James had 29 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists for his fourth triple-double of the season, getting 15 points and four assists in the final period.

"The guy's not human," Detroit guard Will Bynum said. "When he gets rolling, you just want to try to stop his teammates and hope that's enough."

Cleveland extended its win streak to six Friday with a 92-85 victory at Chicago. James had 29 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists and became the youngest player to score 15,000 points, breaking Kobe Bryant's mark by more than two years.

James reached the milestone at 25 years, 79 days, and did it in his 540th game. Bryant was 27 years, 136 days and playing his 657th game.

"I was born with a God-given gift," James said. "I take full advantage of it by being able to do what I do on the basketball court. Hopefully, I can continue to stay healthy, and hopefully, I'll continue to break records."

Cleveland overcame 41.3 percent shooting - its lowest mark in 14 games. Mo Williams added 18 points and Jawad Williams had 10 off the bench.

"Tonight we couldn't find our rhythm offensively," James said. "We were executing alright, but just missed some easy shots. That's what allowed them to stay in the game."

The Cavaliers will see a different Detroit team than they faced Tuesday since Rodney Stuckey returned in Friday's 106-102 loss at Indiana. Stuckey scored 25 points in nearly 27 minutes in his first action since collapsing on the bench March 5 in a 99-92 loss at Cleveland.

"The plan wasn't to play all those minutes, but I mean it was just in the heat of the game," Stuckey said. "I've been working out. After this happened, I took a couple of days off, but after that I've just been working out. I feel fine."

Detroit, which has lost nine straight on the road, rallied from a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit to take the lead with 2:51 left. Ben Gordon added 17 points and rookie DaJuan Summers had 12.

"I thought our guys in the second half played the way they're supposed to. We defended and played hard," coach John Kuester said.