The Cleveland Cavaliers (37-26) have ended their small form crisis and won 112:90 against harmless Detroit Pistons (29-35). Coach Tyronn Lue made two changes to the Starting Five. This benefited Larry Nance Jr., who played the best game of his career.
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue made two changes to his starting five: Larry Nance represented Center Tristan Thompson, who had been knocked over in the past game. In addition, Rodney Hood was allowed to take second place instead of Cedi Osman from the very beginning.
Nance was also the asset of the Cavs-Offense and got directly involved with offensive rebounds and his own points. The pistons got off to a better start overall, however, before a spectacular dark from LeBron James and a king’s threesome in the Possession made up for it. On the other side was Blake Griffin, who gave the solo entertainer with 12 points and 3 assists in the first quarter. This was enough for a 28-26 lead of his team.
In the second round, Cleveland’s Second Unit turned the game around before the Starting Five came back piece by piece. A great alley-oop from LeBron to Nance – who had already scored 18 points and 10 rebounds by the end of the first half – generated another offensive momentum that provided a 54:49 lead to the break. After the change of sides, the hosts managed to keep the lead double-digit thanks to a few stops. Detroit hardly got anything left on the chain, Griffin was completely on his own and had to watch how simple points hail on the opposite side – with 90:70 it went into the final section.
In this the garbage time started very early on, because the pistons-defense fell apart and the cavs thanked each other with funny threesomes or slams. It must be noted that Detroit has no place in the playoffs in this constitution. With the ninth consecutive away defeat in a row and the eighth overall “L” from the last ten games, hopes for participation are likely to have waned once and for all.
The Cavs, on the other hand, ended their small crisis and defended third place in the east. This was made possible by Nance’s Career Night, which included 22 points and 15 rebounds. James also dominated with 31 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists, Hood scored 13 points.
On the other side Griffin’s solid performance with 25 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists failed, Drummond scored 15 points (5/5 FG, 5/5 FT).
Cleveland Cavaliers (37-26) vs. Detroit Pistons (29-25)112:90 (BOXSCORE)
LeBron James. Even though the story of the evening was Nance’s strong performance as a starter, James was by far the best and most dominant player on the stage. Most of the time, he managed to make the game fast and give his colleagues easy deals. If this wasn’t the case, he broke the defense with his precise semi-field game. In the end he was efficient (11/17 FG, 5/7 3FG) and he also had one or two highlights in his backhand.
Andre Drummond. Even if he stayed perfect in graduation, it would have taken more of the center. Often he just stood there in the offense and left Griffin with the action, but he’s not a magician. Defensively, Drummond was not a factor either: especially in the first half, he didn’t manage to keep Nance away from the board.
Admittedly, the acceptance of Nance for Thompson into the Starting Five was born out of hardship, but she proved decisive for the Cavs. The high-flyer brought with it an energy and explosiveness you don’t know from TT this season. As a pick-and-roll dispenser he was consistent, and also hit half-distance throws. In the Defense he managed to annoy Drummond despite his size disadvantages and apparently took away his desire to rebound him.
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