Nance knows what Cavs crave
Former Laker hits career highs in his first start for Cleveland
CLEVELAND — As Larry Nance senior waited in the hallway following the best game of his son’s NBA career, the former All-Star was approached by a young Cavaliers fan.
“I’m not Larry Nance senior,” he said, reaching down to shake hands with the youngster. “I’m Larry Nance junior’s father.”
And a proud papa. His kid put on quite a show.
Nance posted career highs with 22 points and 15 rebounds in his first start for Cleveland as the Cavs wrapped up a disappointing five-game homestand on a positive note with a 112-90 win over the Detroit Pistons on Monday night.
LeBron James scored 31 points before taking a seat on the bench after the Cavaliers outscored the Pistons 36-21 in the third quarter to blow it open. But Nance was the story. With Cleveland missing three big men — All-Star Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson and Jeff Green — because of injuries, the Cavs needed someone to step up and Nance came through.
Wearing the same No 22 his father had retired by Cleveland, the 25-year-old had the best game of his young career.
“It just kind of felt easy,” Nance said. “The guys were giving me all the opportunity in the world to make my shots, and I just happened to be making them.”
It was only one game, but Cleveland’s latest look was encouraging.
The Cavs have been in a funk lately as they try to integrate four new players, but they got a win before embarking on a two-week, six-game trip.
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue will stick with Nance as a starter while Thompson recovers from a sprained right ankle that will keep him out at least two weeks.
Beyond that, it’s possible Lue could keep Nance in his first five.
Since joining Cleveland in a trade last month, Nance has shown he can consistently drain a mid-range jumper that he rarely tried with the Lakers.
“I didn’t know he could shoot it,” Lue said. “He never shot it in LA. But coming here, just watching him shoot, he has 3-point range also, which I didn’t know.
“If he can continue to make that shot, it helps our offense out tremendously.”
Nance said the new surroundings have freed him up to show more of his game.
“Whatever it was, I just wasn’t that comfortable shooting them in LA,” he said. “But whether it’s the coaching staff or the guys, they have the utmost confidence in me taking that shot and I feel great shooting it, too.”
James was his usual brilliant self, making five of seven 3-pointers and adding seven rebounds and seven assists. With the Cavs comfortably ahead, he sat the entire fourth quarter, a rarity in this odd season.
Blake Griffin scored 25 to lead Detroit, which has lost nine straight away from home. The Pistons haven’t won on the road since Jan 10. Andre Drummond scored 15 but didn’t reach double-digit rebounds for the first time in 19 games.
James led the way, but it was Nance who helped negate Drummond and Detroit’s size advantage with several big plays. By halftime, Nance had matched his career best with 18 points.
Griffin credited Nance with fueling the Cavs.
“Just his energy alone, forget the points, his secondchance rebounds, his hustle plays were a difference maker,” Griffin said.
“He plays very, very hard. He’s talented. He’s got a high ceiling.”
Detroit fell to 2-9 since Feb 9 and is 6-9 since Griffin arrived in a blockbuster trade.
“We aren’t giving ourselves much of a chance to win because we’re playing so frustrated right now — frustrated with the refs, frustrated even more by the ball not going in the basket,” said Detroit coach Stan Van Gundey.
“It’s very hard to play like that.”
For the second straight game, Nance upstaged James with a sensational dunk.
JR Smith scooped a pass toward the rim that Nance grabbed with one hand and slammed home, triggering another eruption from the crowd and his teammates on the bench.
“It was a heck of a pass,” Nance said. “It was right on the money.”