Final
Pistons continue dominance over Cavs with big win
Dec 24, 2013 - 5:34 AM Cleveland, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - Josh Smith scored 25 points, Brandon Jennings added 21 with 13 assists and the Detroit Pistons cruised past the Cleveland Cavaliers for the seventh straight time, 115-92, on Monday.Andre Drummond chipped in with 14 points and 11 rebounds while Greg Monroe added 11 and 11 for the Pistons, who were coming off double-digit home losses to the Bobcats and Rockets.
Kyrie Irving's 21 points and seven assists as well as Tristan Thompson's 17 points and six boards went for naught for Cleveland.
The Cavs, losers in four of their last five games, were sloppy with the ball early on, committing eight turnovers in the first quarter to dig themselves a 13-point hole.
Earl Clark drained a corner 3-pointer in the final minute of the frame to bring Cleveland within 28-18, but the Pistons stayed ahead by a comfortable margin throughout the second period.
Cleveland players not named Irving or Matthew Dellavedova combined to shoot 1- for-17 in the second, and the Pistons cruised into halftime holding a healthy 58-40 cushion. Smith had 20 points and Detroit made 53.7 percent of its shots in the first half.
"Our energy was there," Pistons head coach Maurice Cheeks said. "It was the way we wanted to play."
Detroit stayed in front by double digits the entire second half. Drummond ended the third with a thunderous, tomahawk dunk in the final seconds, and the Pistons' huge 89-64 lead heading to the fourth was never threatened.
"We got our butts handed to us tonight," Thompson said.
Game Notes
Smith has been averaging 23.3 points (138) over his last seven games ... Drummond has 21 double-doubles on the season ... Rodney Stuckey totaled 14 points and five steals off Detroit's bench ... Cleveland finished with 19 turnovers ... The Cavs fell to 8-5 at Quicken Loans Arena.
Dec 23 9:16 PM- DETROIT: 89
CLEVELAND: 64
End of 3rd
Dec 23 8:48 PM - DETROIT: 58
CLEVELAND: 40
Halftime
Dec 23 8:07 PM - DETROIT: 28
CLEVELAND: 18
End of 1st
Dec 23 7:35 PM - DETROIT: 0
CLEVELAND: 0
1st Quarter - 11:47
Dec 23 7:14 PM
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