Cavs Get Defensive, Crush Pistons

On Wednesday night, the Cavaliers let a victory slip away. On Friday night, that was never a concern.

Still shorthanded, the Wine & Gold jumped all over the Pistons early and never let up – getting right back in the win column with a one-sided 98-78 win over Detroit at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

The stingy Cavaliers held the Pistons to 41 points in the first half and continued to dominate defensively after intermission – limiting Detroit to just 11 points in the third quarter before cruising to the finish line in the fourth.

Again without the services of their leading scorer – Collin Sexton, out with a left knee injury – as well as Kevin Love and Lauri Markkanen – still in the league’s health and safety protocols – the Cavaliers used a balanced scoring attack to bolster their tenacious defensive effort.

Darius Garland led the way with a game-high 21 points on an efficient 8-of-14 shooting, including 4-of-9 from beyond the arc, adding seven boards and a pair of steals in the win.

Cedi Osman followed up with 17 points in just 22 minutes of work off the bench – going 7-for-13 from the floor, adding two boards and a steal. Ricky Rubio was just as effective off the bench – leading both squads with nine assists and five steals.

Evan Mobley continued to impress – adding 16 points in the win, going 6-of-10 from the floor, including 2-of-2 from long-range, adding seven boards, a pair of steals and three blocked shots.

Jarrett Allen rounded out the Cavaliers in double-figures, but had his double-double streak snapped at five – chipping in with 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting to go with seven boards and a block.

Overall, the Cavaliers shot 48 percent from the floor and drilled 14 three-pointers. They prevailed on points in the paint, 50-34, and handed out 27 assists on 39 made field goals. Defensively, Cleveland held the Pistons – the league’s lowest scoring squad – to 37 percent shooting and 9-of-30 from long-range, forcing 23 turnovers that the Cavs converted into 27 points.

Jerami Grant led Detroit with 16 points and this past July’s top overall pick, Cade Cunningham, added nine points but turned the ball over seven times in the loss.

Miss any of the action? Find all the highlights and photos in the Game Tracker.

Darius Garland lobs a perfect pass upstairs to Jarrett Allen who catches and throws it down over top a defender for another poster slam.

As nasty as the Cavaliers defense was before intermission, they completely blanketed Detroit coming out of the locker room in the third – holding the Pistons to 5-of-20 shooting, including an 0-for-6 mark from deep, with six turnovers in the mix.

In the process, the Wine & Gold ballooned an 11-point halftime lead – putting together a 12-2 run to start the quarter, punctuated by Isaac Okoro’s dunk midway through that put the Cavaliers up three TDs – 64-43.

Cleveland improved its lead to as large as 27 points in the fourth quarter before J.B. Bickerstaff called off his dogs with 3:40 to play in regulation.

By the Numbers - 102 … total rebounds that Evan Mobley has grabbed through the first 13 games of his NBA career – the fastest a rookie has reached that mark since Brad Daugherty (12 games) and Hot Rod Williams (13) back in 1986.

Mobley also now has 16 blocked shots on the season – twice as many as his next closest competitor (Scottie Barnes) among all rookies.

Enjoy the best broadcast calls of the night from Cavaliers Radio Network's Tim Alcorn and Rafa Hernandez-Brito from Power 89.1.

Following Friday’s blowout win over the Pistons, the Cavaliers close out the four-game homestand with a pair against Boston – welcoming the C’s to town on Saturday night and again on Monday.

On Wednesday night, the Wine & Gold get back on the road – albeit briefly – traveling to Brooklyn for a matchup with Kevin Durant, James Harden and the Nets. The following night, Cleveland comes home for a showdown with Steph Curry and the Warriors – tipping off another four-game homestand that will also see Brooklyn, Phoenix and Orlando roll into town.