Pistons 87 - 75 Cavaliers
Final
  for this game

Prince pushes Pistons past Cavs

Mar 29, 2012 - 3:21 AM Cleveland, OH (Sports Network) - Tayshaun Prince had 29 points and eight rebounds to help the Detroit Pistons take an 87-75 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Brandon Knight posted 16 points and five assists while Jason Maxiell had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Pistons, who have won their past two after dropping five straight.

"Everyone who was on the floor contributed to the win tonight," said Detroit head coach Lawrence Frank. "We played great defense and limited our turnovers, that's a recipe for winning."

Kyrie Irving scored 22 points with nine boards and six helpers and Antawn Jamison added 17 points for the Cavaliers, who have lost five straight and eight of nine.

"Our defense could have been a little bit better but overall I thought we played some good ball," said Cleveland head coach Byron Scott. "We just couldn't make a shot tonight to save our lives."

Detroit opened the game with the first six points, but Cleveland answered with an 11-0 run a bit later as Irving scored the final eight points, capping it on a three-pointer that helped Cleveland to take a 23-21 lead into the second quarter.

The Cavaliers led by four points in the second quarter, but their offense went cold for four minutes and the Pistons took advantage with a 10-0 run that saw Prince make a three-pointer for a 38-32 lead.

Detroit eventually took a 49-44 lead into the break and quickly extended it to 12 after Austin Daye put in a layup for a 58-46 advantage with eight minutes left in the third.

It was 68-53 when Knight put in a jumper, but Detroit didn't score the rest of the quarter and Cleveland put in eight points to cut the deficit to 68-61 heading to the fourth.

The Cavs, though, were unable to cut their deficit below five in the final quarter as the Pistons methodically pulled away.

Game Notes

Cleveland hosts Milwaukee on Friday...Detroit wraps up its four-game road trip in Chicago on Friday...Detroit managed to make 42.2 percent of its shots while Cleveland made 34.5 percent...Cleveland had taken the previous two meetings this season. The teams will meet one final time in Detroit on April 17.






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