Game Summary
The Cavaliers (28-19) begin their home-and-home series with the Detroit Pistons (22-24) this Sunday night in a Central Division showdown. Tipoff from The Q is at 6:00 p.m. (ET).
The Wine & Gold continue divisional play on Sunday evening after tallying a 115-108 bounce-back win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night. The Cavaliers lost the first three contests against Indiana this season, but were able to avoid the sweep thanks to some solid performances from their new-look lineup.
Cavs Host Pistons
From where to catch all the action to Sunday's game notes, Cavs.com has you covered.
FOX Sports Ohio
WTAM 1100, 100.7 WMMS, 87.7 FM La Mega
Joe G.'s guide to a victory.
Learn more about Sunday's matchup.
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The win over the Pacers highlighted the Cavs' ability to share the ball evenly among teammates, with a season-high seven players scoring in double figures (James-26, Smith-23, Rose-14, Thomas-12, Green-11, Love-10, Thompson-10). Cleveland also tied their season high in field goal percentage (.561, 46-82) and had 27 assists.
By topping Indiana, the Cavs are now 15-2 in their last 17 games at Quicken Loans Arena and are averaging 113.9 points and 26.1 assists over that stretch. They are also shooting a combined .503 from the field in that span of time.
Going forward, some other things Wine & Gold fans can take away from the club's most recent win include the club's outstanding ability score the basketball. In fact, the Cavs have now scored at least 100 points in 19 consecutive home games, their longest streak since the 1988-89 season (27 straight home games, 11/19/88-3/2/89).
Cleveland also got productivity on the defensive end. The Wine & Gold set a season-high record with 13 steals in Friday’s win against Indiana and are now 8-1 when swiping at least 10 steals in 2017-18.
As the Cavs aim to prove that they still run the Central Division, they'll have to knock off a tough, yet slumping Detroit Pistons squad in order to close out their three-game divisional stand on a high note.
The Pistons, who were 20-15 by the end of 2017, have found themselves in a funk, losing six straight, including eight of their last ten. Detroit, however, has seen a number of players step up this season during crunch time. Even during their current losing streak, big-man Andre Drummond showed off his offensive prowess against Utah on Wednesday by becoming the youngest player in NBA history to grab 2,000 offensive rebounds, which could be an energy booster for his club going forward.
After falling to the Jazz in 98-95 heart-breaker, Drummond also notched 24 total rebounds to go along with 30 points. Ish Smith led the scoring off the bench with 14. Before Detroit battles Cleveland on Sunday, they'll look to avoid posting a seventh-straight loss this Saturday afternoon when they take on a fiery Oklahoma City Thunder squad.
Where to Catch the Action
TV: FOX Sports Ohio
Radio: WTAM 1100, 100.7 WMMS, 87.7 La Mega
For live in-game updates, follow @cavs, @CavsJoeG, @CavsFredMcLeod, @MrCavalier34, @CavsJMike and @chones22 on Twitter.
Probable Starters/Status Update*
#3 - Isaiah Thomas
#5 - JR Smith
#23 - LeBron James
#0 - Kevin Love
#13 - Tristan Thompson
G
G
F
F
C
#9 - Langston Galloway
#22 - Avery Bradley
#34 - Tobias Harris
#7 - Stanley Johnson
#0 - Andre Drummond
Status Update: (Cavs) - Dwyane Wade, (Personal matter/excused absence, TBD)
Status Update: (Pistons) - Reggie Bullock, (Thumb, Probable), Reggie Jackson, (Right ankle sprain, Out), Jon Leuer, (Left ankle sprain, Out)
*Subject to change.
Head-to-Head Matchup
Sunday's contest between the Cavs and Pistons will be the second matchup of a four-game season series. The Wine & Gold topped their rivals 116-88 back on November 20, which was the first time the two clubs battled each other at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
In the win, Cleveland led by as many as 39 points, while also dishing out 28 assists (11 turnovers) and shooting 42-80 (.525) from the field, 16-33 (.485) from three-point range and 16-17 (.941) from the foul line. Defensively, the Wine & Gold allowed an opponent season-low 88 points on 34-77 (.442) shooting from the field.
Cleveland has been victorious over the last two games against Detroit, winning by 28 points (116-88) in that late November meeting and 32 points (128-96) in their March 14th contest of last season. That 32-point win at The Q was the largest margin of victory Cleveland has ever recorded against Detroit. Over the two wins, the Wine & Gold have outscored the Pistons by an average of 30.0 points (122.0-92.0), outshooting them from the field (.561-.403) and from three-point range (.556-.347).
As mentioned, Sunday will be the first game of a home-and-home series between Cleveland and Detroit with the series wrapping up on March 5 at The Q.
Game Promotions
MASCOT NIGHT + POSTGAME FAN FREE THROWS PRESENTED BY BONA
On Deck
Following Sunday night's contest, the two teams will square off again on Tuesday at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit at 8:00 p.m. (ET) as they round out their home-and-home series. The Cavaliers will then return home to battle the Miami Heat on Wednesday night (7:30 p.m.) before dueling with the Houston Rockets on Saturday, February 3 when the Wine & Gold will debut their brand-new Nike City Edition uniforms.