AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - The NBA Draft won't be held until late June, but the Detroit Pistons are already on the clock.

After reaching the Eastern Conference finals in each of the last six seasons, time is about to run out on Detroit's impressive era as a title contender, as well as its brief stay in the 2009 playoffs.

The Cleveland Cavaliers put the Pistons on the verge of elimination Friday with a 79-68 win at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Cleveland leads the best-of-seven matchup 3-0 and can sweep the first-round postseason series on Sunday afternoon.

"This is killing me. I can't even lie," said guard Richard Hamilton, a member of all six of Detroit's aforementioned championship-caliber teams. "It's killing me, just the simple fact of how great we was and now being down 0-3, being the eighth seed, and watching them celebrate shot after shot. It's hard. It's a terrible situation.

"We thought tonight was the night. It wasn't."

Game 3 provided the Pistons with a golden opportunity to steal a game from the NBA's winningest team, but it turned into yet another example of just how far they've fallen since trading catalyst Chauncey Billups earlier this season.

On a night when Cavaliers starting guards Mo Williams and Delonte West combined to make 1-of-18 shots and miss all nine of their 3-pointers, Detroit was unable to take command -- even after holding Cleveland to nine points in a hard-to-watch third quarter.

"I was 1-for-11, Delonte was 0-for-7 and we had eight turnovers between us," Williams said, shaking his head. "And we win the game by 11 points on the road. What more do you want me to say?"

Once the fourth period began, the hosts had no chance, not with MVP-to-be LeBron James on the other side. "The Chosen One" amassed 11 points, three rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots in the final 12 minutes as the Cavaliers outscored the Pistons 26-15.

Well-traveled veteran (and one-time Detroit forward) Joe Smith also came up big in the second half with 12 points and seven rebounds, missing just two field goal attempts in scoring a career playoff-high 19 points.

Adding salt to the Pistons' collective wounds, the majority of fans who stuck around to the final buzzer were cheering for Cleveland, which everyone inside the wine-and-gold's locker room duly noted.

"I think the close proximity between the cities caused a lot of fans to come out and support us," Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas said. "The city is proud of this team and we're proud to give people something to cheer about.

"They seem to follow us to every game, no matter where we play, but this was something to have so many of them here tonight."

The transplanted Clevelanders shouted "Z" every time Ilgauskas shot the ball and yelled "three" when Williams pulled up beyond the arc. They even attempted to start an "M-V-P" chant for James, but never gained traction, unlike the deafening serenade that Lakers star Kobe Bryant received in the same building on March 26.

Clearly, these are not the Pistons -- or the Motor City fans -- of old.

"I didn't (think I'd ever hear that in Detroit)," said James, who finished with game-highs of 25 points, 11 boards, nine assists and three steals. "Did I ever think I'd play the Pistons without Chauncey Billups? I didn't either, but things happen."

Ouch.

If Detroit general manager Joe Dumars wasn't feeling sick enough about his franchise, James' unsolicited dig probably put him over the edge.

Then again, Dumars will have plenty of company after his players walk the plank, which will likely occur Sunday in front of another announced sellout crowd full of Cavaliers fans at The Palace.

"We've always been a one-step team and that game is our next step," West said. "We have the whole city of Cleveland believing in us and we hear their support. We're gonna try and keep giving it back to them."

Brian Dulik is a regular contributor to Pro Basketball News. He can be reached at brisports@hotmail.com.