INDEPENDENCE — Ben Wallace’s stint with the Cavaliers has taken another strange turn.
The four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year is doubtful for tonight’s game against Boston because of dizziness brought on by a viral left inner ear infection and allergies.
If Wallace doesn’t recover, Anderson Varejao will start Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinal at Quicken Loans Arena.
“It’s just like it’s been all season (with one injury after another),” Cleveland coach Mike Brown said Friday following practice at Cleveland Clinic Courts. “If Ben can go, he’s gonna go, but if he can’t, somebody else will have to step up.”
Wallace played 3:40 before leaving, and had to be helped to the locker room because he couldn’t see straight.
The 33-year-old power forward flew back with his teammates, but spent much of Friday undergoing tests at the Cleveland Clinic. Wallace’s status is said to be “best case, 50-50” that he plays tonight.
“It started as an allergy attack — it was just a headache — then I got dizzy,” Wallace said, adding that the lingering pyrotechnic smoke inside the TD Banknorth Garden didn’t help. “I have never had a migraine before, but it was like a tough headache. I couldn’t really turn my head up or down.
“You can’t play basketball with your head spinning like that.”
The likely loss of Wallace is another obstacle as the Cavaliers try to rally from 2-0 in the best-of-seven series.
Though “Big Ben” has not been a huge force in the postseason, he is third in rebounding (6.8) and blocked shots (1.00), and is one of three Cavaliers shooting better than .450 from the floor (.529).
“The main guys are going to be pretty much scouted by the other team, so it’s up to the other guys to step up in situations like this,” Wally Szczerbiak said. “Boston has been getting contributions up and down their bench, and that’s key. We need to get more guys involved, especially if we’re going to be shorthanded.
“Me being a scorer, I know when you get a couple baskets, it gets you going. That’s all it’s going to take for everyone on the team.”

Good omen

Only 19 teams have rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the NBA playoffs, but one of them is the Cavs, who won four straight to beat Detroit in the 2007 Eastern Conference finals.
“That experience helps us a lot,” guard Daniel Gibson said. “Knowing that you’ve been in this situation before, and done it before, makes you confident you can do it again.”
Cleveland nearly pulled off the same trick in 2006, falling behind 2-0 in the East semifinals to the Pistons before winning the next three games. Detroit won the sixth and seventh to advance. Just as in those previous scenarios, the Cavaliers will play Game 3 and 4 at home this weekend.
“We play really well in front of our fans because the intensity they provide is amazing,” Gibson said. “When we get out there and the rally towels get spinning, we’re ready to go.”

Apple or cherry?

LeBron James became the team  leader in career playoff turnovers with his seven in Game 2. James has 165 in 41 games, while previous record-holder Mark Price made 158 in 47 contests.
 “The Chosen One” became the first player in NBA history to have two 10-TO games in his career by reaching double digits in Game 1.
James already holds the league record for turnovers in a six-game playoff series with 34 against Washington in 2006. He has 17 through two games against Boston, putting him on pace to shatter the NBA mark for a four-, five-, six- and seven-game series.
“Some of them have to do with him not being aggressive,” coach Mike Brown said. “He’s just got to be more aggressive, and he knows that.”

History lesson

This marks the 12th time that the Cavaliers have fallen behind 2-0 in a series. They have been swept three times and played their way into a win-or-go-home game on three other occasions.
When Cleveland has played Game 3 (7-3) and Game 4 (5-4) at home after digging a two-game hole, it has won 12 of 19 games at home.
The Cavaliers are 6-3 all-time against Boston in home playoff games. The Celtics have not won a regular-season game here since Dec. 18, 2005.

Tip-ins

Cleveland point guard Delonte West spent an extended period taking perimeter shots after the rest of the team had called it a day. “Everyone has to look at themselves and see what they can do to make the team better,” he explained.
• ABC will telecast tonight’s matchup nationally — its lone prime-time game in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
• The Celtics and Cavaliers will both hold shootarounds at Quicken Loans Arena this morning.
• Fans without tickets can attend an outdoor fan fest on Gateway Plaza at 5:30 p.m.
 

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