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Love leads Cavs over Pistons

Feb 25, 2015 - 5:56 AM Auburn Hills, MI (SportsNetwork.com) - Kevin Love tied a career high with eight 3-pointers to help the Cleveland Cavaliers top the Detroit Pistons 102-93 on Tuesday.

Love had 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting from deep and added nine rebounds in the Cavs' third straight win. LeBron James added 19 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds, while Kyrie Irving scored 18.

"Kevin had it going tonight, so I was looking to get him the ball," James said.

James also surpassed Scottie Pippen for the most assists by a forward in NBA history.

The Pistons led by as many as 14 early in the third quarter but had their two-game winning streak stopped. Reggie Jackson paced Detroit with 22 points and added nine assists and eight rebounds.

"I'm not down on our guys at all after that," said Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy. "I thought our guys competed hard."

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope contributed 21 points, Andre Drummond scored 17 with 10 boards, and Greg Monroe finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds.

After scoring the last six points of the first half, the Pistons added the first five coming out of the break on Drummond's alley-oop from Jackson and Caldwell-Pope's 3-pointer to go up 14.

Love continued his hot shooting with 3s on back-to-back possessions to cap a 20-3 run and give the Cavs a 73-70 lead. Love hit four 3s during the burst and Timofey Mozgov contributed six points.

The Pistons retook the lead on a pair of Jackson free throws with two minutes to go in the quarter, but Irving closed the period with two field goals to give Cleveland a 77-74 lead after three.

John Lucas III's fadeaway three minutes into the final quarter pulled the Pistons within two, but Cleveland scored the next nine to put the game away. James had a hand in all nine points, scoring six himself and making a no-look pass to set up a James Jones 3.

The Cavaliers used their 3-point shooting to take a 30-27 lead after one. Love was 3-of-6 from long range, and quick ball movement from James and Iman Shumpert in the closing seconds set up a Jones triple to put Cleveland ahead.

Down 44-37, the Pistons scored 14 straight points with James resting on the bench.

Detroit led 62-53 at the break when Jackson hit three free throws after Irving fouled him attempting a last-second shot.

Game Notes

Jackson has 39 points and 14 assists in his first two games with Detroit following last week's trade from Oklahoma City ... Prince scored seven points in the first game of his second stint with the Pistons ... Kendrick Perkins played two minutes in his Cavs debut after signing earlier on Tuesday.