The Pistons came out strong. They weren’t ever able to build up a huge lead, but they stayed neck-and-neck with the Cavs throughout and often held a slight edge. The Cavaliers’ superior talent showed through the majority of the fourth quarter, though, as Cleveland put together a 29-13 run to put the game well out of reach.
LeBron James got away with a couple pretty egregious offensive fouls in this game. Stan Van Gundy and most Pistons fans were rightfully upset about those specifically. But the officiating on the whole probably actually benefited the Pistons’ style of play. The refs were swallowing a lot of whistles both ways. James in particular didn’t get the charge calls, but also didn’t get many freebies at the line. The problem is that the Pistons just didn’t play as physically as the Cavs this time. If this is how every game gets officiated, they really need to step that up.