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LeBron, Cavaliers hand Pistons sixth straight loss 98 - 88
Nov 25, 2009
Trying to defend LeBron James with a rookie second-rounder and a point guard was enough of a disadvantage for the Detroit Pistons. Toss in a hot night for Cleveland's long-range shooters and the loss of their top 3-point threat and the Pistons had no chance to beat the Cavaliers Wednesday night. James scored 34 points as the Cavs won for the eighth time in nine games, 98-88, over the snake-bit Pistons, who have lost six straight.
The Cavs opened up an 18-point halftime lead, then eased up and allowed the Pistons to keep the outcome relatively close. Detroit closed within five before James hit two free throws with 1:04 remaining. James shot 12-for-24 and could have reached the 40-point mark with a little luck. "I felt I had a few of them that bounced in and fell out," said James, who added eight rebounds and seven assists. "Every shot I took tonight, especially in the fourth quarter, felt pretty good." With James and Mo Williams throwing kickout passes to the perimeter, the Cavs put themselves in a comfort zone. They made five 3-pointers in the second quarter when they outscored Detroit, 32-23. Cleveland wound up 9-for-17 behind the arc, including a combined 5-for-5 from Daniel Gibson and Anthony Parker. They finished with 13 points apiece.
"That's one thing we do," James said. "We penetrate and look for our shooters. Daniel did an unbelievable job coming out in the second quarter and knocking down shots. And Mo knocked down shots. That's what we are. We're a really good 3-point shooting team and when we get into attack mode, that allows guys to get open looks because we're driving and making the defense collapse." Normally, Tayshaun Prince and Richard Hamilton would have been guarding James at The Palace. But Prince (back) and Hamilton (ankle) have missed most of the season with injuries. Rookie Jonas Jerebko guarded James most of the game and point guard Rodney Stuckey also tried to defend him. Adding more injury to insult, the Pistons lost leading scorer Ben Gordon to a sprained left ankle during the second quarter. Gordon got squeezed between Williams and James after getting fouled by Parker on a drive. Gordon is questionable to play Friday against the Los Angeles Clippers. "It's tough," Pistons forward Charlie Villanueva said. "It seems like injuries have been playing a factor throughout this whole season for us. We can't get a break. Hopefully, it's not that bad of a sprain." Gordon, who is averaging 19.8 points, wasn't sure of the severity. "I have no idea," he said. There was no uncertainty who would carry Cleveland's offense during crunch time. When the Pistons pulled within 10 in the fourth, James made a 3-pointer over Stuckey, who is three inches smaller. Moments later, after the Pistons closed within eight, James drove past Jerebko for a layup. Pistons coach John Kuester had no magic formula for stopping James, even though he coached Cleveland's offense under Mike Brown last season. "The only thing that is good about knowing him is being able to say 'Hi' to him," Kuester said. "I think he would drive hard on his mom. It doesn't matter who he's playing against. He's that type of competitor." In recent years, the Cavs and Pistons had a fierce rivalry. They played three times in the Eastern Conference playoffs in the last four seasons, with Cleveland winning two of those series. The Cavs are now the dominant team in the Central Division and have beaten the Pistons eight consecutive times, including a four-game sweep in the first round of the playoffs last season.
The teams don't play again until March and by then, the Pistons just hope to be healthy. They have been relying on their guards for scoring and got 25 points from Stuckey. But bench sparkplug Will Bynum was just 1-for-13 from the field as Cleveland kept defenders near the foul line and deep in the paint to prevent dribble drives. "They're not a very good 3-point shooting team but they are very good attacking," James said. "Stuckey definitely did in the second half but we tried to keep them out of the paint as much as possible." Cleveland was also without a starter. Shaquille O'Neal missed his sixth straight game with a strained left shoulder despite practicing on Tuesday. "We just decided to hold him out," Brown said. "If today's a playoff game, he's playing."