Pistons-Cavaliers Preview

By KATE HEDLIN
Posted Feb 20 2012 2:37PM

The Detroit Pistons' improved defensive effort continues to pay off.

Detroit goes for its fourth straight victory overall and first three-game road winning streak in more than three years Tuesday night when it visits the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Pistons are in last place in the Central Division but have won seven of nine and three straight, including two victories over Boston last week.

Detroit (11-22) is coming off a 96-81 win over the Celtics on Sunday. The Pistons shot 37.8 percent, but scored 40 points off 24 Boston turnovers.

"I was happy with our guys," coach Lawrence Frank said. "Their intensity, the ability through defense (being) able to create offensive opportunities, the deflections to active hands."

Prior to its recent run Detroit had lost seven straight while giving up an average of 102.4 points. In the last nine games, however, it has allowed 91.7 points per game.

A big effort on the glass has been key as the Pistons have held a 5.4-rebound-per-game edge in that span. Jason Maxiell, whose move into the starting lineup coincides with the turnaround, had six points and 10 boards Sunday.

"I think we've found our effort, focus and intensity," said Greg Monroe, who finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds. "Everyone on this team understands their role now, and we're all working."

Detroit also got another solid effort from Rodney Stuckey, who held Ray Allen to two first-half points. Stuckey shot just 2 of 10, but still averaged 25.0 points in four games last week.

While the Pistons are playing at their highest level of the season, Cleveland (12-17) is looking to win back-to-back games for the first time since Jan. 1 and 3.

The Cavaliers are coming off a 93-92 victory over Sacramento on Sunday. The Kings' DeMarcus Cousins scored with 2.9 seconds remaining, but Kyrie Irving was fouled with 0.4 seconds left and hit two free throws to cap a 23-point game.

"Even if they didn't call a foul, I saw the lane open up a little bit and I was going to go for a layup," Irving said. "(Tyreke Evans) fouled me. It was a unique situation."

Cleveland shot 36.0 percent - its second straight game below 40 - but held Sacramento to 37.6 percent.

The Cavaliers have gotten consecutive good performances from rookie Tristan Thompson, who recorded his first double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds Sunday. He also had three blocks.

Thompson, who had 12 points and six boards against Miami two nights earlier, missed four games earlier this month with an ankle injury.

"I thought he played pretty good (against Miami) and I thought he started to get his confidence back," coach Byron Scott said. "I think the ankle is starting to get to a point where it's not a problem."

Cleveland beat Detroit 105-89 on Dec. 28 at the Palace, shooting a season-high 57.1 percent and putting six players in double figures. The Cavaliers have won three straight and 10 of 12 between the two.

The Pistons, who have won consecutive road games following a 1-12 start, haven't won three straight away from Auburn Hills since Jan. 19-Feb. 7, 2009.

Jamison, Irving rally Cavs past Pistons, 101-100

Posted Feb 21 2012 11:29PM

CLEVELAND (AP) Less than halfway through his rookie season in the NBA, Kyrie Irving keeps adding to his reputation as a clutch player.

The 19-year-old guard scored 17 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter and the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat the Detroit Pistons 101-100 Tuesday night.

"It's a good feeling," said Irving, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. "I feed off the energy of my teammates and the crowd. When you have the confidence ot your teammates going down the stretch it's easier to make those plays."

Irving and Alonzo Gee combined for for 30 of Cleveland's 35 points in the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers rallied from a 72-55 deficit late in the third period. Although Irving won't turn 20 until next month, he's the team's unquestioned leader.

"Kyrie said he was gonna turn it up, and he did," said Gee, who scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth. "He turned it up. He picked it up for us, and were gonna follow him."

Detroit coach Lawrence Frank had a good handle why his team's three-game winning streak came to a crashing end.

"Really, two guys dominated for them in the fourth quarter," he said. "Irving and Gee kicked our tail. They willed it back for them."

Brandon Knight led the Pistons with 24 points while Greg Monroe had 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Antawn Jamison scored 32 points for Cleveland, but Irving, whose two free throws with 0.4 seconds remaining gave the Cavaliers a one-point win over Sacramento on Sunday, came through again in the clutch. He hit two 3s that sparked Cleveland's run and cut the lead to 80-76 early in the fourth period.

"When I hit my first one, it really felt good," Irving said. "From there on out, I felt like I had to take over the game."

And that's exactly what he did.

Five points by Gee made it a two-point game before Irving found a wide-open Jamison in the corner for a 3-pointer to give the Cavaliers an 86-85 lead with 5:53 to play. Rodney Stuckey's two free throws gave Detroit the lead back, but Irving's 3-pointer from the top of the key and a left-handed layup in the lane put Cleveland ahead 91-87.

Irving poked the ball away on Detroit's next possession and flipped the ball to Gee, whose dunk put Cleveland ahead by six with 3:09 to play. Detroit responded with five straight points before Irving's basket put the Cavaliers ahead 95-92.

"He was the first overall pick in the draft for a reason," Frank said. "He's an outstanding young player."

Knight's 3-pointer tied the game with 1:02 to play, but Gee rebounded his own miss with a dunk that put Cleveland ahead for good.

Ben Gordon missed on a layup attempt and Irving hit two free throws with 11.2 seconds remaining gave Cleveland a 99-95 lead. Gordon's layup cut the lead two two, but Daniel Gibson, who missed the previous two games with a sprained ankle, hit two free throws with 2.4 seconds left.

Gordon's 3-pointer at the buzzer left Detroit one point short.

Irving was 2 ofor 6 from the field and commited six turnovers in the first three quarters. He was 6 for 9 and had no turnovers in the final period.

"He wasn't assertive in the first three quarters," Cleveland coach Bryon Scott said. "In the fourth quarter he was looking to be aggressive creating shots for himself and his teammates."

The contest was a bruising affair with players from both teams hitting the floor on several occasions. Gee and Cavaliers center Semih Erden were both taken to the locker room after sustaining facial injuries in the first quarter, but both returned shortly before halftime. Erden was poked above the right eye by Jamison while the two were going for a rebound and needed four stitches to close the cut. Gee suffered a nose contusion after being hit by a forearm from the Pistons' Tayshaun Prince while he was driving to the basket.

Monore was elbowed in the nose by the Cavaliers' Omri Casspi in the third quarter. He was treated by Detroit's trainer and remained in the game.

Monroe was given a technical foul for protesting a foul call in the third quarter.

The Pistons had won seven of nine coming in after a seven-game losing streak. The Pistons were trying to win three straight road games for the first time since 2009.

Irving and Tristan Thompson will represent the Cavaliers in the rookie/sophomore game as part of All-Star weekend in Orlando. Irving will also particpate in the Skills Challenge. Knight and Monroe will also play in the rookie/sophomore game.

NOTES: Both teams play their final game before the All-Star break on Wednesday. The Pistons visit Toronto while the Cavaliers host New Orleans. ... Cleveland signed G Manny Harris to a 10-day contract. He had been playing with Canton of the NBA Development League, averaging 21.4 points. Harris played in 54 games last season for the Cavs. ... Cleveland G Anthony Parker missed his 11th straight game because of back spasms.

Notebook: Cavaliers 101, Pistons 100

Posted Wednesday February 22, 2012 12:05AM

By Brian Dulik, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Point guard Kyrie Irving and shooting guard Alonzo Gee combined for 30 points in the fourth quarter as the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied for a 101-100 victory over the Detroit Pistons. Irving scored 17 points and Gee had 13 in the final period for the Cavaliers, who trailed by 17 late in the third quarter. Cleveland power forward Antawn Jamison scored a game-high 32 points, while Irving finished with 25 points and a career-best eight assists. Point guard Brandon Knight paced the Pistons with 24 points, while center Greg Monroe had 19 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high seven assists.

QUOTABLE: "Really, two guys dominated for them in the fourth quarter. Irving and Gee kicked our tail. They willed it back for them. It's not that we didn't compete and play hard, I think they took it from us. You've got to give credit to those two guys. Irving and Gee were great in the fourth."
-- Pistons coach Lawrence Frank

THE STAT: The Pistons grabbed 16 offensive rebounds and scored 20 second-chance points over the first three quarters, but were blanked in both categories in the fourth. In the process, Cleveland dominated the overall glass battle 18-8 -- with Gee collecting six of his career-high 11 in the frame. "We just lost focus and stopped paying attention to detail, and they got hot," Monroe said. "When two teams are playing hard and everything is intense, there are things you can't control." Largely thanks to their prowess on the boards, the Cavaliers outscored Detroit 35-23 in the fourth.

TURNING POINT: The Pistons held a 72-55 advantage with 4:27 left in the third, but the Cavaliers answered with a 31-13 run to take a one-point lead midway through the fourth. Detroit tied the score at 95-95 on a Knight 3-pointer with 1:02 remaining, only to have Gee grab his own rebound and dunk the ball in traffic to put Cleveland ahead for good at 97-95. Irving and shooting guard Daniel Gibson each went 2-for-2 at the foul line in the final 12 seconds to seal the deal for the Cavaliers, rendering Detroit shooting guard Ben Gordon's trey at the buzzer meaningless.

QUOTABLE II: "Kyrie said he was going to turn it up -- and he did. He turned it up. Kyrie is unbelievable, so I just fed off his energy. He helped the team win and made good plays and set up easy shots for us."
-- Gee

HOT: The Cavaliers' comeback from a 17-point deficit was their largest since rallying from 21 down against Detroit on March 5, 2010. It also marked Cleveland's fifth win this season after trailing by double digits. ... Jamison collected 10 rebounds to post the 300th double-double of his NBA career. He is averaging 22.0 points and 8.7 boards in his last 10 games. ... Gibson had a career-high three blocked shots. ... Gee is averaging 13.2 points and 4.8 rebounds in his last 12 contests. ... Pistons power forward Jonas Jerebko grabbed a season-best five offensive rebounds. ... Rookie Knight shot 8-for-12 from the field, 4-for-5 beyond the arc, and 4-for-4 from the foul line.

NOT: Pistons small forward Tayshaun Prince missed his final 12 shots en route to a 2-for-15 performance. His season field goal percentage fell to .406 ... Detroit point guard Will Bynum was 0-for-4 off the bench. ... The Pistons have lost four straight games against Cleveland. ... Cavaliers power forward Tristan Thompson failed to score and missed five shots -- all in the paint -- in 20 minutes. ... Jamison was 7-for-14 at the foul line, taking over the Cleveland lead in free throw attempts with 119 while dropping his free throw percentage to .605. ... Top overall draft choice Irving committed six turnovers, all in the first three quarters, and has 85 on the campaign.

QUOTABLE III: "Everyone says that the fourth quarter is the pressure quarter, but I feel like our team is really prepared for it. There's no pressure on us. We were down, but I had confidence in our team to get stops down the stretch. It felt good. This was a big win for us."
-- Irving

GOOD MOVE: Gee's go-ahead slam with 25.4 seconds left in the fourth came on Cleveland's third shot of the possession. With the score tied at 95-95, Irving missed a driving layup, but Gee grabbed the rebound and came up short on a heavily-contested short jumper. The former NBA D-League Rookie of the Year subsequently corralled that miss and hammered home a two-hand dunk that sent the Quicken Loans Arena crowd into a frenzy. "After I got hit on my second shot, I saw where the ball was going, so I kept playing," Gee explained. "That was how I was able to get my own rebound, and I finally dunked it."

BAD MOVE: Cavaliers center Semih Erden needed four stitches on his right eyebrow after Jamison accidentally hit him in the head while battling for a rebound. "I have to thank Antawn for that," quipped Erden, who also had significant swelling above and below his eye. "He got me good." ... Also in the first half, Prince used his off-arm to bloody Gee's nose on a drive to the basket. "Thank God it ain't broken, but there was a lot of blood when it happened," Gee said. "A lot of blood." ... Monroe also briefly exited the game with a bloody nose after Casspi inadvertently elbowed him in the schnozz.

NOTABLE: The Cavaliers are 4-3 during their franchise-record nine-game homestand. ... Detroit had its three-game losing streak snapped and is 7-3 in its last 10 contests. ... Monroe, Knight and Thompson will play on Shaquille O'Neal's team in the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge, while Irving will play for Charles Barkley's squad. Irving also was chosen to compete in the Taco Bell Skills Challenge. ... Detroit Lions nose tackle Ndamukong Suh attended the game as the guest of Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert and his son, Nick.

UP NEXT: For the Pistons, Wednesday @ Toronto, Feb. 28 vs. Philadelphia, Feb. 29 vs. Charlotte. For the Cavaliers, Wednesday vs. New Orleans, Feb. 28 vs. Boston, Feb. 29 at New York.

• Pistons: Villanueva
• Cavaliers: Parker, Varejao

• Pistons: Monroe
• Cavaliers: --

• Lead Changes: 15
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH
• Officials: #48 Scott Foster, #59 Gary Zielinski, #75 Eric Dalen
• Attendance: 13459
• Duration: 2:22