Cavaliers rest regulars fall to Pistons 112-110 in overtime

BY STONE LEXINGTON

CAVALIERS BEAT WRITER

Controversy Wednesday night’s regular season finale between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons more resembled a D-league exhibition. Entering Wednesday, the Cavs had already clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the third time in franchise history, while the Pistons are locked into the eighth seed and will meet Cleveland in the first round of the NBA playoffs this weekend.

Wednesday night, the Cavs rested starters LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and J.R. Smith. All five of the Cavs starters would have sat out the contest had Tristan Thompson not played the first four seconds of the game to preserve his NBA-leading consecutive games (370) streak. Other Cavalier inactives included Iman Shumpert and Mo Williams.

Meanwhile, none of the Pistons regular starters played in the game, leaving the matchup to a cast of role players and impression seekers. In the end, the Pistons pushed past the Cavs with a 112-110 overtime victory in Quicken Loans Arena.

“I thought your guys came out and competed and played hard tonight,” Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue said.

Jordan McRae, who entered Wednesday averaging 1.9 points and 4.7 minutes per game with Cleveland this season, led the Cavs with a career-high 36 points, four rebounds and seven assists in 47 minutes. Richard Jefferson added 16 points, while Timofey Mozgov and Channing Frye each contributed 14 points each.

“He had a heckuva game,” Lue said of McRae.

With the win, Detroit secured the season series 3-1 over Cleveland. However, Irving missed two of those meetings and James missed one. Love has been solid against the Pistons this season, averaging 24.0 points on 51 percent shooting, including 50 percent from beyond the three-point line, 7.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists in three games. The Cavs are expected to breeze through the Eastern Conference en route to the NBA Finals and despite the regular season head-to-head record, Cleveland shouldn’t have much trouble with Detroit in the opening round.

While the Cavs haven’t been at their best heading into the postseason (1-3 in their last four contests), scoring has come at a premium of late. Entering Wednesday, the Cavs averaged 107.8 points per game since Jan. 25, which ranks 6th in the league. Cleveland also drained a franchise-record 880 triples this season, which is the 2nd-most in the NBA.

Cleveland connected on seven three-pointers Wednesday, which wasn’t enough to hold off Detroit. Jodie Meeks led Detroit with a season-high 20 points, three rebounds and three assists. Pistons forward Anthony Tolliver chipped-in 15 points and eight rebounds.

The Cavs and Pistons begin their opening round playoff series this weekend in what should be an exciting affair. Anything less than a Cavs championship this year will be considered a major disappointment.

“I feel good about what we’re doing,” Lue said. “I feel good about going into the playoffs and I think our guys are ready.”

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POSTED 04/13/2016 23:31

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