Cavaliers take 2-0 lead in first round, after downing Pistons 107-90
BY STONE LEXINGTON
CAVALIERS BEAT WRITER
Two wins secured, 14 more to go.
After a slow start Wednesday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers pulled away from the Detroit Pistons en route to a dominating 107-90 victory in Game 2 of their opening round playoff series. The win was the Cavs’ 10th straight over Detroit in the playoffs, while it also gave Cleveland a 2-0 lead before the series shifts to the Motor City.
“I though in the first half, we had a lot of defensive breakdowns that weren’t normally us,” Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue said. “In the second half we came out and they ended up with 37 points in the second half, so we just have to do a better job in that first half of locking down and bearing down on defense.”
Whenever you can pass Michael Jordan in anything, it’s a good thing. James passed Jordan (179) for 16th place on the all-time playoff games played list, and when he took the floor Wednesday night, James put his stamp on the Cavs’ second win of the series. James led Cleveland with a team-high 27 points and six rebounds.
The other two members of the ‘Big Three’ also had their second straight big game. Kyrie Irving finished with 22 points and four assists, while Kevin Love totaled 16 points and 10 rebounds.
After starting slow in Game 1, the Cavs followed suit in Game 2. Less than six minutes into the game, Cleveland trailed 17-7 and seemed to be sleepwalking through the first quarter. Immediately after Pistons forward Tobias Harris gave Detroit the 10-point lead with two free throws, Irving had seen enough. The Cavs point guard drained back-to-back triples, followed by another jump shot that brought Cleveland within a 17-15 deficit. Cleveland trailed 28-23 when the first quarter ended but elevated their play in the second quarter.
“It happened last game, we got down and called a timeout and came to the bench,” Lue said. “No one had their head down, (we were) still confident. I just knew we had to pick it up.”
The Cavs opened the second quarter with an alley-oop from Matthew Dellavedova to James, followed by a Richard Jefferson three-pointer that tied the game at 28 a piece. When James threw down an emphatic dunk with 7:28 remaining until halftime to give Cleveland a 36-30 lead, Quicken Loans Arena erupted.
Poor Reggie Bullock. Bullock attempted to block James’ dunk attempt, but failed miserably, offering his part in James’ next poster. The dunk was so demoralizing, Bullock’s family and friends may have even felt the posterization. The Pistons, however, continued to battle and tied the game at 42 on a Kentavious Caldwell-Pope dunk with 4:33 left until the half. Cleveland took a 55-53 lead into halftime and put their foot on the gas in the third quarter.
Four straight scores on the offensive end of the floor sparked the Cavs’ hot third quarter. The spurt started with a Love three-pointer, followed by a James three-pointer, two Irving free throws and a J.R. Smith connection from beyond the arc that game Cleveland a 71-62 lead with less than five minutes remaining in the quarter. When Love converted a layup, followed by another Smith triple to close the third quarter, Cleveland had an 82-68 lead heading into the fourth.
By the time Dellavedova threw another alley-oop, this time to Iman Shumpert, with 7:44 to play in the fourth, the Cavs had their biggest lead of the game, 93-74. Cleveland cruised the rest of the way.
“I actually think we were maybe too aggressive in not taking good shots and making the extra pass,” Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy said. “We were trying to force the ball to the basket, taking some really really bad shots.”
Smith produced one of his best playoff games as a Cavalier, totaling 21 points and five rebounds Wednesday against Detroit. The Cavs shooting guard sank seven of his 11 three-point attempts, many of which came at crucial moments in the contest that sent The Q into a frenzy.
Entering Wednesday, the Cavs had made 10 or more three-pointers in 19 of their last 21 games. Matters were no different in Game 2 as Cleveland connected on 20-of-38 triples to shoot the Pistons out of the building.
Andre Drummond led Detroit with 20 points and seven rebounds. Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson added 14 points, four rebounds and six assists. The series will move to Detroit as Game 3 is scheduled to take place Friday night.
To win an NBA championship, a team needs 16 postseason wins. If the Cavs pick up 14 more wins this season, they’ll secure their first championship in franchise history and Cleveland’s first title in any major sport in more than 50 years.
POSTED 04/21/2016 00:13
Lake County Sentinel
