Detroit Pistons blitzed by Cleveland Cavaliers 112-90
By David Topham
The Detroit Pistons fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers 112-90 on Monday night after being outscored 64-42 across the second and third quarters.
The Cleveland Cavaliers (37-26) took it to the Detroit Pistons (29-35) on Monday night, winning 112-90 behind a typical strong night from LeBron James (31 points, seven rebounds, seven assists) and a career night from Larry Nance Jr. (22 points, 15 rebounds).
The Pistons actually led 28-26 after the first quarter, but the Cavaliers opened the third quarter with a 17-5 run and never looked back. Across the second and third quarters, Cleveland obliterated Detroit 64-42 and turned this one into a laugher.
The Pistons are in a freefall, having lost three in a row and nine of their last 11 as they drop to a season-low six games below .500. Tonight, they got abused on the glass (53-40 Cleveland edge) and in the paint (40-26 Cleveland advantage) – a fact made even more embarrassing by the fact the Cavs were without big men Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, and Jeff Green.
Cleveland moves to 37-26 on the season, taking the season series 3-1 with Detroit.
PG. Detroit Pistons. ISH SMITH. C-. Ish Smith logged another ineffective 30 minutes tonight, finishing with six points and six assists. The spacing just doesn’t work with him out there with Griffin and Drummond.
Reggie Bullock poured in 3-7 three pointers for 11 points, also adding two nice blocks. It’s a shame Detroit is squandering a great season from Bullock.. SG. Detroit Pistons. REGGIE BULLOCK. B-
SF. Detroit Pistons. JAMES ENNIS III. D-. Making his fourth straight start, James Ennis III did not play well tonight. He finished 1-8 from the floor and 1-5 from deep, and couldn’t keep up with Rodney Hood or effectively get around screens on defense.
B+. Blake Griffin put up 25 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and a steal, far surpassing anything his teammates mustered. He went toe-to-toe with LeBron James for two quarters, but crumbled along with his teammates in the third, eventually getting a needless technical foul.. PF. Detroit Pistons. BLAKE GRIFFIN
B-. Andre Drummond finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, ending an 18-game double-double streak. He finished a perfect 5-5 from the field and 5-5 from the free throw line, and clearly didn’t get enough shots in this one. Larry Nance may have gone off tonight, but it mostly wasn’t Drummond’s fault – that lies with his teammates who weren’t effective with their rotations.. C. Detroit Pistons. ANDRE DRUMMOND
STANLEY JOHNSON. B. Stanley Johnson played another fine game off the bench for the Pistons, finishing with nine points, three rebounds, an assist, and two steals. He struggled from the field but displayed some nice footwork to create looks for himself in the paint.. SF. Detroit Pistons
ANTHONY TOLLIVER. B. Anthony Tolliver finished with eight points and five rebounds, going 2-4 from deep.. PF. Detroit Pistons
Detroit Pistons. DWIGHT BUYCKS. D. Dwight Buycks turned in an erratic 13 minutes as he continues to play the role of backup point guard. He finished 1-7 from the field and 0-4 from three, but made a few nice plays in the second quarter and is still the preferred option over Jameer Nelson.. PG
C+. Eric Moreland was active in his 13 minutes off the bench. He logged three points, six rebounds, one steal, and one block, but was just 1-5 from the field.. C. Detroit Pistons. ERIC MORELAND
D-. Langston Galloway isn’t doing near enough to justify his place in the rotation over rookie Luke Kennard. Needed as a gunner, he finished 1-5 from the field with two points and 0-1 from three-point range.. SG. Detroit Pistons. LANGSTON GALLOWAY
F. Another game where his team gets outclassed, another post-game press conference where Stan Van Gundy puts the blame on himself. SVG also had Drummond be too aggressive on pick and roll defense, and Nance torched Detroit when the rotating players failed to stop him.. Head Coach. Detroit Pistons. STAN VAN GUNDY
Detroit will need a miracle to stop their slide as they host the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday.