CLEVELAND (AP) - LeBron James crossed midcourt and launched the ball toward the basket more than 40 feet away as the horn sounded.

As Cleveland's star, the Detroit Pistons, 20,000 fans and a TV audience watched the shot's arching flight, James never stopped running.

First round: Saturday's Game Ones

• Bulls 105, Celtics 103 (OT)
• Cavaliers 102, Pistons 84
• Mavericks 105, Spurs 97
• Rockets 108, Blazers 81

First round: Sunday's Game Ones

• Lakers 113, Jazz 100
• Sixers 100, Magic 98
• Hawks 90, Heat 64
• Nuggets 113, Hornets 84

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FOXSports.com analysis

• 2009 NBA Playoff Central
• Rosen: Lakers win but don't dominate
• Goodman: Celtics in trouble without KG
• Smith: Pistons no match for Cavaliers
• Hench: Kobe vs. LeBron -- book it!
• Galinksy: 10 burning playoff questions
• Kriegel: Title or bust for Kobe
• Rosen: West first-round preview
• Rosen: East first-round preview

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Video

Marques Johnson previews
• West: Lakers-Jazz | Nuggets-Hornets | Spurs-Mavs | Blazers-Rockets
• East: Cavs-Pistons | Celtics-Bulls | Magic-Sixers | Hawks-Heat

After Hamilton's jumper brought the Pistons to 54-45 with two seconds left, James took the inbounds on the fly, blew past Prince on the far sideline and dropped his long 3-pointer. By the time it tumbled to the floor, James was nearly under the basket.

He then paused and stood on the baseline, soaking in the love from Cleveland's fans, who have watched him perform similar feats before.

Did he call glass?

"Yeah," he said. "After I hit it."

The Pistons left the floor shaken.

"Man," Stuckey said of James' big shot. "It is what it is. He made it and they got a bit of momentum."

Detroit regrouped and came out hungry after halftime. The Pistons hung around by knocking down jumpers and managed to pull within 80-72 early in the fourth quarter on Will Bynum's basket with 8:50 left, forcing the Cavs to call a timeout.

James checked back in at that point, and when play resumed, guard Mo Williams, who didn't shoot well in his first playoff game with Cleveland, made a 3-pointer and the Cavs were on their way to an easy win.

About the only thing that didn't go James' way was that his beloved New York Yankees gave up 14 runs in one inning to the Cleveland Indians.

James, as is almost always the case, was the difference.

When he wasn't scoring, he was setting up his teammates for easy baskets.

"It's contagious," said Williams, who went 5-of-14. "You see that he's the reason why this team is the way that it is. When you have your best player being that unselfish, you find yourself being the same way."

For a large chunk of the first half, an expected defensive struggle between two of the East's roughest teams was an offensive extravaganza. The Cavs and Pistons traded baskets - most on jumpers - and threatened to take a game expected to end in the 70s or 80s into triple digits.

When Rasheed Wallace dropped a short shot in the lane to bring the Pistons within 37-36, Detroit was shooting an eye-popping 65 percent (15-of-23) from the floor and getting good looks against the league's best defense. Cleveland was nearly as hot, hanging around the 60 percent mark.

The Pistons finally cooled, and the Cavs took off.

James fed a no-look pass - left-handed - across the lane to Smith for a dunk, igniting a 20-9 run that gave Cleveland a 12-point halftime bulge.

Detroit missed 12 of its final 15 shots in the opening half, an untimely drought it never overcame.

"To come in and shoot 46 percent, only have seven turnovers and be that close on the boards, it should have been closer than an 18-point game," Pistons coach Michael Curry said.

Notes