Rasheed Wallace and the Detroit Pistons tried to play LeBron James with more physicality, but to no avail Tuesday.

The Detroit Pistons tried to tussle with the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight.

Case in point: After having LeBron James run through them for 38 points in a Game 1 loss Saturday, the Pistons doubled him from the jump.

Then when they had a chance to lay their hands on him, the Pistons did so.

With five minutes and 35 seconds left in the first half, James began making his path to the basket when Detroit forward Amir Johnson tugged at his shoulders to draw the foul. Then forward Antonio McDyess added a little love tap push that made James react with a defensive elbow.

Johnson drew a personal foul and a technical foul.

Then at the end of the first half, Cleveland rookie Darnell Jackson and Detroit veteran Kwame Brown stood chest to chest jawing at each other and received technical fouls.

The truth is, Detroit didn’t show much more fight than that. If they fall behind early in Game 3 Friday at Detroit, get out the brooms because the Cavaliers will sweep the Pistons.