The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons 86-84 Wednesday night to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven game National Basketball Association playoff series.
Cleveland superstar LeBron James had 32 points and five assists - the last on teammate Drew Gooden's game-winning layup with less than 30 seconds left in regulation.
The Pistons have lost the last three games after going up 2-0 in the series that resumes Friday in Cleveland.
In the Western Conference, the San Antonio Spurs avoided elimination in their best of seven series as they beat the Dallas Mavericks 98-97. Tim Duncan led the Spurs with a season-high 36 points, hitting his first 12 shots, and also grabbed 12 rebounds.
Teammates Tony Parker scored 27 points and Manu Ginobili added 18. The Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki scored 31 points in the loss.
Dallas now leads the series 3-2, as it moves to Dallas for game six on Friday.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.