West returns to lineup, leads Cavs past Pistons

February 22, 2009

It's not often someone other than LeBron James gets top billing in a victory by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Delonte West provided a rare exception Sunday night.

West scored 25 points in his first game since mid-January and led the Cavaliers to a 99-78 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night.

West, sidelined since Jan. 15 with a fractured right wrist, was 8-of-11 from the field and made all five of his 3-point attempts. He scored 13 points in the first quarter when the Cavaliers put the game away against the sluggish Pistons, who have lost six straight for the first time since February 2004, and fell to 27-27.

"Was Delonte injured?'' joked James, who had 20 points in 31 minutes after scoring 55 Friday night against Milwaukee. "Wow. He played like he was never out. It was great to have him back out there.''

West showed no rustiness from his 16-game layoff.

"Once your adrenaline gets going, you don't feel an injury,'' West said. "I was happy with the way I played.''

It didn't take long for West to regain trust in his shot.

"Making shots always gives you confidence,'' West said. "It's always good for a shooter to see that ball go through the nets.''

The Cavaliers, who has the NBA's best home record at 25-1, lead the reeling Pistons by 16 games in the Central Division. Detroit, which has lost 15 of 20, began a five-game trip, which also features stops in Miami, New Orleans, Orlando and Boston.

"We stunk the gym out,'' said Allen Iverson, who led the Pistons with 14 points. "We acted like strangers out there tonight.''

The Cavaliers, who trailed only at 2-0, had three big runs in the first half, the first two coming less than 15 minutes in. Leading 9-8 early in the first quarter, Cleveland went on a 15-0 run, sparked by two 3-pointers by West and five points by James, pushing the lead to 16.

The Cavaliers added a 12-0 spurt early in the second quarter, building the lead to 43-19. That burst featured two 3-pointers from Mo Williams and six points by Zydrunas Ilgauskas. A 13-0 run later in the period, sparked by seven points by James and five by West, including another 3-pointer, pushed the lead to 63-29 with 1:46 left before halftime.

While the Cavaliers were 12-4 without West, his presence was missed on both ends of the floor.

"He's a multitalened player who can do a lot of things,'' James said. "We missed having him.''

Cleveland built the lead to 36 in the third quarter.

"I thought our guys did a nice job defensively at the beginning of the game,'' Cleveland coach Mike Brown. "We did a nice job contesting shots.''

Detroit coach Michael Curry is looking for answers to turn his team around.

"This was disappointing,'' he said. "We talked about having trust out on the court - helping each other offensively and defensively.''

James, who was able to sit out the fourth quarter, added nine assists and five rebounds. He also recorded a resounding block of Iverson's layup attempt in the third quarter.

Ilgauskas added 16 for Cleveland, while Wally Szczerbiak scored 15. Walter Herrmann scored 13 for Detroit.

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