Paul Sancya / AP

Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace smiles during Detroit's Game 7 victory over Cleveland on Sunday.

updated 11:09 a.m. ET May 22, 2006

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - In a single half, the Detroit Pistons taught LeBron James everything he needs to know about defense in the playoffs — and finished off yet another series comeback.

While Detroit moves on to its fourth straight Eastern Conference finals, the 21-year-old Cleveland Cavaliers superstar is left to ponder his dizzying lesson.

“They trapped me, they went under screens, they went over screens,” said James, who was held to one second-half field goal Sunday in the Cavs’ 79-61 Game 7 loss to Detroit. “I’ve seen almost every defense that I could possibly see for the rest of my career in this series.

“That’s why they’re Eastern Conference champions, and that’s why they keep winning.”

Playing in his first postseason, James was sensational at times for Cleveland, pushing the NBA title favorites to the brink of elimination.

“There’s nobody on his level that can get his teammates involved like he does,” said Tayshaun Prince, who led the Pistons with 20 points. “He sees the plays before they even happen, and no one else does that. That’s the reason this went seven games.”

The Cavs were down by only two at halftime; then Detroit simply smothered James in the second half and took command with a 19-6 run that started in the third quarter and ended with a 67-52 lead midway through the fourth. James and the upstart Cavaliers were rendered helpless when it mattered most.

Typical Pistons.

The Cavs led 3-2 in the second-round series and had a chance to eliminate the Pistons at home in Game 6 largely because James, who didn’t live up to the hype — he surpassed it. But what the Pistons can do on defense — when they choose to play with intensity, like in a closeout game — probably is just as frightening for opponents.

Detroit held Cleveland to the lowest-point total in any Game 7 in NBA history; the third-lowest total in any playoff game since 1955; and 23 points in the second half, which tied the fewest scored in a postseason half since the shot clock was introduced a half-century ago.

The Cavs made just 31 percent of their shots and scored fewer points than any team has this postseason.

Take a look at low-scoring records in NBA history, and you’ll see Detroit frequently on almost every list.

“In a pressure situation, you do what you do best, and for us, that’s defending,” Detroit coach Flip Saunders said. “We locked down.”

In a rematch of last year’s conference finals, Detroit hosts Miami on Tuesday night in Game 1. The Heat have been resting since eliminating New Jersey last Tuesday.

“We can catch our breath for about eight hours,” Saunders said.

The Pistons are the first team to reach the conference finals in four straight years since the Chicago Bulls did it from 1990-93. Detroit has remained among the NBA’s elite in recent years by clamping down on defense when necessary; that time arrived in the second half Sunday against a franchise in the second round for the first time since 1993.

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