Darius Garland drains triple vs. Detroit Pistons
CLEVELAND — \u2014 Darius Garland<\/a> had a season-high 28 points and Evan Mobley<\/a> and Max Strus<\/a> scored 18 apiece as the Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> beat Detroit 108-100 in an NBA In-Season Tournament game on Friday night, handing the Pistons their 10th consecutive loss.
Mobley also had 11 rebounds and five assists, and undrafted rookie Craig Porter<\/a> scored a career-best 12 points in 16 minutes for Cleveland, which returned home after a 2-2 West Coast trip. Jarrett Allen<\/a> had 10 points and five blocked shots.
\u201cWe were back in front of the best fans in the league and we got our first win in the tournament, so that\u2019s really big for us,\u201d Garland said. \u201cCraig is still getting his feet wet, but he\u2019s really good and he\u2019s going to keep getting better.\u201d
Cavaliers shooting guard Donovan Mitchell<\/a>, who is averaging 29.2 points, was inactive because of a right hamstring strain. Garland missed the final game of the road trip with a neck strain and appeared in just his seventh game of the season.
\u201cWe know how important Darius is to us,\u201d Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. \u201cHe is the leader of this team, the ball is in his hands, and he has the keys. We need Darius to keep growing and keep leading this team.\u201d
Cade Cunningham<\/a> had 20 points and eight assists, and Kevin Knox II<\/a> had 11 points and 10 rebounds for Detroit. The Pistons have the worst record in the league at 2-11, last winning on Oct. 28 against Chicago.
The Cavaliers improved to 1-1 in East Group A, while Detroit is 0-3. The Pistons, who committed 13 turnovers in the first half, have lost six in a row at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and six straight overall to Cleveland.
\u201cWhen you\u2019re on the road, you have to be able to take care of the ball,\u201d Detroit coach Monty Williams said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s on me to create a better mindset. The turnovers in the first half put us in a hole.\u201d
Pistons rookie Ausar Thompson<\/a> had nine points and 10 rebounds, and Jaden Ivey<\/a> and Isaiah Stewart<\/a> each scored 11 points. Stewart grabbed 10 boards as their starting frontcourt combined for 30 rebounds.
\u201cWe know we\u2019re right there,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cOur defense was solid all night, but we had that stretch of turnovers that lost us the game. If we just clean that up, we\u2019ll be fine \u2014 and we all know that.\u201d
Strus scored 13 in the first quarter and ignited the sellout crowd in the second with a thunderous slam over Thompson. Cleveland made 17 of its first 23 shots and built a 16-point lead before carrying a 59-45 advantage into the half.
\u201cMax has infectious energy because of how hard he plays the game,\u201d Bickerstaff said. \u201cHe has a way of making momentum-shifting plays, whether it\u2019s a big three or a big finish at the rim.\u201d
Detroit didn\u2019t commit a turnover in the third and pulled within 75-71, but Garland buried a 3-pointer to quell the threat.
UP NEXT
Pistons: Visit Toronto on Sunday afternoon.
Cavaliers: Host NBA champion Denver on Sunday night.
——
AP NBA: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/NBA<\/a><\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Darius Garland drains triple vs. Detroit PistonsCLEVELAND — \u2014 Darius Garland had a season-high 28 points and Evan Mobley and Max Strus scored 18 apiece as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat Detroit 108-100 in an NBA In-Season Tournament game on Friday night, handing the Pistons their 10th consecutive loss. Mobley also had 11 rebounds and five […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n