KEY POINTS:
The Cleveland Cavaliers eased to a 98-82 home victory over the Detroit Pistons yesterday to advance to basketball's NBA finals for the first time in their 36-year history.
The Cavs won the last four games of their Eastern Conference decider to take the best-of-seven series 4-2 and became only the third team in NBA history to rally from a 0-2 deficit at this stage of the playoffs.
Cleveland head to San Antonio to take on the Spurs in game one of the finals on Friday.
Spurs, the Western Conference champions, have home-court advantage following their victory over the Utah Jazz.
LeBron James, the young star and Cavaliers team leader, said he had been preaching "Championship, every single day" to his teammates all season. "Now we've made it happen, this is special," he added.
Rookie Daniel Gibson bagged 19 of his career-high 31 points in the final quarter as the Cavs broke open a close game after leading by one going into the final period.
James' 48-point return - including his team's final 25 points - in game five was considered one of the greatest individual performances in NBA history. Yesterday, he added 20 points and had 14 rebounds and eight assists.
- REUTERS
