Cavs late comeback not enough in loss to Pistons 96-88
BY STONE LEXINGTON
CAVALIERS BEAT WRITER
Simply put, the Detroit Pistons were more physical than the Cleveland Cavaliers. Monday night in Quicken Loans Arena, the Pistons bullied the Cavs en route to a convincing 96-88 victory. The loss was just Cleveland’s fifth at home this season (23-5), and it also snapped Cleveland’s five-game winning streak.
“They came in and played well, and they beat us,” Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue said. “We weren’t ready to play tonight.”
Cleveland (40-15) couldn’t buy a bucket in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. The Cavs trailed Detroit 75-68 heading into the final period, but proceeded to miss their first 10 shots when the fourth quarter began. Meanwhile, the Pistons (28-29) took an 86-68 lead after starting the fourth with an 11-0 run, which was ended with 6:50 remaining by two LeBron James free throws, Cleveland’s first points of the quarter.
The Cavs didn’t go quietly. When Kyrie Irving sank a layup with 2:28 to play, Cleveland climbed back to an 88-82 deficit. However, Pistons guard Reggie Jackson sank a floater on Detroit’s next possession to put Detroit back up by eight. The nail in the coffin came moments later. As James drove for a bucket following a Cavs steal, Detroit shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ripped the ball from James’ hands. Pope raced to the other end of the floor for a spectacular layup that put Detroit back up double-digits, 92-82 with 1:26 remaining. After Pope’s stellar play, the fans in The Q began to head for the exits.
Irving led Cleveland with 30 points and five assists, while Kevin Love added 24 points, seven rebounds and three assists. What proved to be the Cavs’ undoing was that it wasn’t James’ night.
“We lacked energy today, starting with myself all the way down to everybody else,” James said. “We had a couple quick spurts in the second quarter and late in the fourth, but a little bit too late.”
James might have had his worst performance of the season, finishing with a season-low tying 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists. James finished 5-of-18 from the field, and he committed six costly turnovers that helped lead to the loss. After the Cavs dominating victory over the Thunder in Oklahoma City Sunday, Lue said he should have gone with his gut to rest James on the second night of a back-to-back, but he ultimately decided against it.
“It was one of those games, one of those odd games you rarely see him play,” Lue said of James’ night. “Unfortunately, it happened to be tonight.”
The Cavs have been one of the better defensive teams in the NBA this season, entering the night allowing the third-lowest scoring average in the league at 96.8 points per game. Cleveland held Detroit to 96 points, but a lack of offense was the primary reason the Cavs never had a lead in the second half. Cleveland shot 43 percent on the evening and just 31 percent from the three-point line (8-of-26).
All five Pistons starters finished with double-figures in scoring. Jackson led Detroit with 23 points, Pope had 19 points and All-Star center Andre Drummond totaled 16 points and 15 rebounds. Marcus Morris and Tobias Harris finished with 14 points each.
The loss spoiled the debut of newest Cavalier Channing Frye. Frye, who the Cavs traded for just before last Thursday’s deadline, finished with two points and four rebounds in nine minutes against Detroit.
“I’m not here to get stats,” Frye said before the game. “I’m here to do the little things, create floor spacing, hit open j’s and make sure that I keep the intensity on defense. I think that’s the biggest thing I’ve seen since the break is, this team is on point defensively and they do things a little different than Orlando, so for me it’s just trying to catch on to that part. The offensive part I’m not that worried about.”
The Cavs will try to get Frye his first win as a Cavalier on Wednesday as they look to regroup against the Charlotte Hornets.
POSTED 02/22/2016 22:15
Lake County Sentinel
Photo by Tim Phillis (TCP Photography)
