NBA -- Pistons burn Cavs with 17 made 3s
By Homer D. Sayson
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 29 Dec 2014
CHICAGO -- Entering Sunday afternoon's showdown at the Quicken Loans Arena, the Detroit Pistons were one of the most disappointing teams of the 2014-15 season, winning just six games in 29 starts.
But playing LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers proved to be a huge incentive as the Pistons played like title contenders and registered a stunning 103-80 blowout that made the partisan crowd boo the home team.
Brandon Jennings swished 5-of-9 from downtown for 25 points while Andre Drummond lent his muscle down low with 16 points and 17 boards. Jodie Meeks joined the fray with 14 while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 13. Greg Monroe and Jonas Jerebko contributed 10 apiece in Detroit's total team effort.
After Kevin Love knocked a jumper with 11:15 to go in the second quarter, the Cavs surged ahead 32-17. That's when the Pistons awoke and countered with 33-1Det5 run that gave them a 50-47 halftime lead. Detroit carried the momentum in the third and entered the fourth quarter comfortably ahead, 77-61.
The Pistons converted only a modest 41 of 91 shots, but their franchise-best 17-for-31 fare from the 3-point arc was too much for Cleveland to overcome.
"They shot the heck out of the ball," LeBron James told reporters during his post-game chat with reporters.
James finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, a fine effort that fell way short for a Cavs team that missed 24 of their 29 attempted threes and shot just 37.8 percent from the field (31 of 82) overall.
Love submitted 20 points for Cleveland while Tristan Thompson pitched in a healthy 18 and 11 boards, but no other Cavalier made a meaningful contribution to avert Sunday's disaster. Kyrie Irving missed his second straight start with a knee contusion and his replacement, Matthew Delavedova, turned in only three points.
Despite the loss, the Cavaliers remained in fourth place in the Eastern Conference. But with an 18-12 slate, they now trail the 20-9 Chicago Bulls by a full three games for ownership of the Central Division.
Winners of back-to-back games since dismissing pricey forward Josh Smith last Monday, the Pistons moved up their record slightly to 7-23, 13th place in the Eastern Conference and 6.5 games off of a playoffs berth. (Homer D. Sayson)
Photo: Brandon Jennings (L) led Detroit's barrage of 3s by drilling 5-for-9 from downtown as Detroit blew out the Cleveland Cavaliers, 103-80.
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