CLEVELAND (AP) -Rasheed Wallace ripped of his headband and threw it toward the Pistons bench in disgust.
It made matters worse.
Wallace’s technical foul helped add a point to Cleveland’s pivotal 9-0 comeback run in the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers beat Detroit 91-87 Tuesday night, tying the Eastern Conference finals 2-2.
The loss guarantees a trip back to Cleveland on Saturday for Game 6, a place the Pistons have struggled this series.
The frustration boiled over midway through the fourth quarter after Cleveland’s Sasha Pavlovic got a long rebound and broke away for a layup. Unprovoked, Wallace walked toward the bench for a timeout and sidearmed his red headband, drawing a technical. He picked up the headband, but spent the rest of the quarter playing without it.
He finished with just nine points and shot 4-of-10.
A period earlier, Detroit seemed ready to steal the momentum in series. The Pistons outscored the Cavaliers 24-15 in the third quarter, winning the period, as they have in each of the four games this series. They held LeBron James scoreless in the quarter and Richard Hamilton came alive with 11 points.
But for the second straight game, Detroit again couldn’t stop James in fourth quarter as he scored 13 of his 25 points in the period.
The Pistons failed to score a field goal for about 5 1/2 minutes as the Cavaliers reclaimed the lead.
The loss came despite big games from both Chauncey Billups, who led Detroit with 23 points and nine rebounds, and Hamilton, who had 19 points. The pair combined for just 20 points in Game 3.
Billups again had more turnovers (5) than assists (2).
Detroit missed an opportunity to lead an Eastern Conference finals series 3-1 for the first time in 10 appearances. Like last season in the semifinals, the Pistons head back to Detroit for Game 5 with the series tied.
Last year, Cleveland won that game and forced the Pistons had to come back from a 3-2 deficit, which they did before losing to Miami in the East final.
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