Drummond leads Pistons past Cavs
Before Detroit’s matchup with Cleveland, Pistons coach Dwane Casey stressed the importance of a good start.
“When the bell rings, we’ve got to be ready to run and play fast, and play together,” Casey said. “I’ve had it before and somehow, there’s some reason we get off to that slow start, and we can’t afford that.”
Casey could have few complaints about his team’s start Monday night. The Pistons shot 74 percent from the field in the first quarter and sailed to a 113-102 win over the Cavaliers.
Andre Drummond had 23 points and 16 rebounds for the Pistons, Blake Griffin added 21 points and 12 rebounds, and Reggie Bullock scored 21 points. The Pistons led 66-46 at halftime, and the game was never close after that.
“We had a lot of positives,” Casey said. “I thought our defense was solid and we started the game well. I was on the team about the start and we scored 38 points in the first quarter.”
The Cavaliers are now an NBA-worst 2-13 heading into their reunion with LeBron James. The Los Angeles Lakers play at Cleveland on Wednesday night.
Drummond scored 13 points in the first quarter. The Pistons led 38-27 after one, then scored the first 11 points of the second. Bullock’s 3-pointer in the final seconds made it a 20-point advantage at the half.
The lead reached 30 in the third quarter before the Cavaliers went on an 18-2 run that lasted well into the fourth, making the final score a little more respectable.
“I feel like we were on a run, and we were rolling,” Cleveland’s Collin Sexton said. “When it’s like that, I feel like anything’s possible.”
Sexton led the Cavs with 18 points, and Jordan Clarkson contributed 16. Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson drives as Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond defends during the Monday’s game in Detroit. HORNETS 117, CELTICS 112: Kemba Walker scored 43 points, giving him 103 in his last two games, and the Charlotte Hornets battled back to beat the Boston Celtics. Walker followed up his NBA season-best, 60-point effort in an overtime loss to the 76ers on Saturday night with another spectacular performance, scoring 21 in the fourth quarter and making 14 of 25 shots, including seven more 3-pointers. Walker outdueled Boston’s Kyrie Irving,
who finished with 27 points and 11 assists.
PACERS 121, JAZZ 94: Bojan Bogdanovic scored 21 points, Domantas Sabonis nearly had a triple-double and the Indiana Pacers beat the Utah Jazz. Sabonis had 19 points, nine rebounds and nine assists as Indiana won its third straight — this one without All-Star guard Victor Oladipo, who sat out with a sore right knee.