The Pistons know whatever the circumstance, Afflalo can handle it.

"That's kind of who he is," coach Flip Saunders said. "We knew that when we drafted him. We knew he was going to be a guy, if he didn't play for eight games, the ninth game he'd give you the same as if he played in the previous eight games and played 40 minutes. He's a guy you can always count on."

Injuries to Richard Hamilton and Juan Dixon gave Afflalo a chance to re-establish his value and perhaps earn some postseason minutes. He didn't play in four of the previous nine games before Hamilton (sore hip) and Dixon (strained calf) were forced to the sidelines. Hamilton returned to action Saturday.

Afflalo learned 10 minutes before the Pistons' home game against Phoenix Monday that he would not only start but also be guarding Steve Nash. His defense helped the Pistons squeeze out an overtime victory.

Ticky-tack foul calls limited Afflalo to 13 minutes in Toronto Wednesday, but he responded with season highs in points (15) and rebounds (seven) in the division-clinching victory over Miami Thursday night. He then impacted the game against archrival Cleveland with his defense.

Afflalo is sure to see more action in Minnesota Tuesday night.

"All these guys have been in similar situations," Afflalo said. "That's part of the process. It's a new level and coming into a new experience, you have to mature and find out some things about yourself. I just try to stay in the gym and stay ready because you never know."

Afflalo earned a spot in the rotation during training camp, then was a surprise starter on opening night in Miami while Hamilton stayed home to be with his newborn son. Afflalo appeared in all but three games before Dixon was acquired from Toronto in late February.

Dixon took away most of Afflalo's minutes, but the rookie didn't sulk over his predicament.

"Arron's been great all season," point guard Chauncey Billups said. "You look at his season, he started the first couple of games with Rip being out and played well. Then as the season went along, different things popped up. (Rodney) Stuckey started playing, we got Juan, we had Flip Murray for a while. A lot of games he didn't play at all, but he's continued to stay focused. He works hard at practice, he works hard before the games and, because of that, when he gets his opportunity, he takes advantage."

PISTONS 85, CAVALIERS 71: Small forward Tayshaun Prince never had it so easy against the Cleveland Cavaliers since they drafted LeBron James.

The Pistons downsized their defense on King James Saturday night and reduced the Cavs' offense to a pittance. Richard Hamilton and Arron Afflalo guarded James instead of Prince and held him to 13 points, his second-lowest output this season.

Coach Flip Saunders decided to go with quicker defenders on James, and Hamilton, who had missed the previous three games with a hip injury, received the unenviable assignment most of the game. James shot 4-for-17 from the field and made five turnovers before retreating to the bench with 7:49 remaining.

"What we wanted to do is try to make him work," Saunders said. "He's one of those guys, when you match bigger guys up on him and give him some space, he doesn't have to do a lot early with the ball. With Rip, he had to do a little bit more early with the ball."

By pushing the ball upcourt more quickly, creating some transition opportunities and moving point guard Chauncey Billups off the ball, the Pistons were much more effective at attacking the Cavs' defense. After being held to 73 points earlier this month in Cleveland, the Pistons scored 72 by the end of the third quarter and led by double digits after Prince's jumper in the final second of the first quarter.

The Pistons' scoring was so balanced that Hamilton's 14 points led the way. Reserve forward Jason Maxiell had 13 off the bench.

"The thing we did was we played more with a purpose of what we're trying to do offensively," Saunders said. "We weren't as stagnant."

James' point total was his lowest since opening night, when he scored 10 against Dallas.