Cavs unite with a team effort to trounce Pistons

The Cavaliers, after nearly six weeks of spinning their wheels and sinking in the muck past their hubcaps, might finally be gaining traction.

Six players scored in double figures to make The Cavaliers’ 121104 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Jan. 28 at Quicken Loans Arena a true team effort. The Cavaliers beat the Indiana Pacers, 115-108, two nights earlier.

Winning two straight would hardly be noteworthy normally. But it’s the first time they’ve won back-to-back since beating the Utah Jazz at home Dec. 16 and the Washington Wizards on the road Dec. 17 to end the surge that saw them win 18 of 19 games. After that, they lost 11 of 15.

The Cavaliers beat the Pistons in a scrappy game. The lead changed hands 15 times before the Cavs took command midway through the fourth quarter. They outscored the Pistons, 31-17, in the final 12 minutes.

“This was a good win for us,” Coach Tyronn Lue said. “The second half, we were a lot better. They had 10 3s in the first half. Holding them to five 3s in the second half was good for us. We shared the basketball. We played with pace.”

Just because the Cavs beat the Pacers and Pistons doesn’t mean all their troubles are behind them. But with a rematch against the Pistons

in Detroit on Jan 30 and a home game with Miami the next night to close out the month, the Cavs have an opportunity to go 7-7 in January. Again, nothing special, but a whole lot better than it looked when it seemed they couldn’t find the light switch in a darkened room.

“That would be a great thing,” Lue said. “We took some steps forward in the Indiana game we lost (on the road Jan 12) and against Golden State (a 118-108 loss at home) and then we took a couple steps backward.

“We changed some things defensively (to beat the Pacers on Jan. 26) and it was pretty good for us.”

The Cavaliers during the drought lost games like the one they won against the Pistons. The bad month, with Kyrie Irving now leading the Boston

Celtics, exposed how badly the Cavs need someone to share the burden with LeBron James.

Isaiah Thomas could be that player. He was unstoppably quick scoring four of his 14 points on driving layups in the third quarter and looked like the dominating 5-foot-9 I.T. of the Boston Celtics before a hip injury sidelined him seven months.

Kevin Love scored 20 points and J.R. Smith scored 15. He was four-ofseven from behind the arc.

The Cavaliers high-fived each other so often they should check their palms for callouses.

Guard Kyle Korver, who scored nine of his 12 points on three-point shots, says the outside world has a false perception of what goes on inside the Cavaliers locker room.

“I think (the mood) the last couple days has been better,” Korver said. “But I’ve always felt that about this team. Inside, it’s OK. Outside, this thing’s burning down. It’s crazy, but we’re OK. We have little things here and there. We’re not perfect. We’re trying to figure things out, but I thought tonight was a good team win and it wasn’t just us relying on LeBron.”

James started off cold, making just one of his first five shots. He made seven of his next 10 for a teamhigh 25 points. He had 14 of the Cavs’ 27 assists.

But it was a team win, as Korver said. That’s how the Cavs have to keep playing to keep the traction they’ve gained.

Jeff Schudel