Pistons run away in 2nd half, beat Heat
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 31 points, Alec Burks added 18 and the Detroit Pistons pulled away in the second half to beat the Miami Heat 116-96 on Tuesday night.
Saddiq Bey scored 14, Isaiah Stewart had 11 points and 11 rebounds and Cory Joseph also finished with 11 points for the Pistons, who trailed 50-47 at halftime — then outscored Miami 69-46 in the final two quarters.
It was Detroit’s biggest margin of victory this season. The Pistons had won only one game by more than seven points, that being a 128-114 triumph over Golden State on Oct. 30.
Tyler Herro led all scorers with a season high-tying 34 points for Miami, which has dropped three of its last four games. The Heat are off to an 11-14 start for the third time in the last five seasons.
Miami played without Jimmy Butler (right knee injury management), Dewayne Dedmon (left foot plantar fasciitis) and Gabe Vincent (left knee). But the Heat had Victor Oladipo for the first time all season; Oladipo, who had been sidelined with a knee issue since the preseason, had nine points in 18 minutes.
Donovan Mitchell scored a season-high 43 points and Jarrett Allen returned from injury to add 24, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 116-102 win on Tuesday night over the Los Angeles Lakers in Lebron James’ only visit home this season.
With Anthony Davis missing the final three quarters because of illness, the Cavs improved to an Nba-leading 11-1 on their floor, their best start at home since 2015-16, when James led them a championship.
Mitchell, who has Cleveland fans dreaming of another title run, took over in the second half and scored 29 points with the kind of performance James did routinely during his 11 seasons for the Cavs.
With Cleveland leading by 12 in the fourth, Mitchell buried a 3-pointer from the left wing to finish the Lakers. After dropping the shot, the All-star guard strutted around the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse floor nodding his head as James helplessly watched.
Darius Garland added 21 points and 11 assists for Cleveland.
James finished with 21 points and 17 rebounds, losing for just the third time in 20 games against the Cavs.
Dennis Schroder and Russell Westbrook added 16 points apiece as Los Angeles had its four-game winning streak stopped.
Davis went out after eight minutes with flu-like symptoms. The eight-time All-star had scored 99 points in his previous two games and had been playing as well as he has in several seasons after being plagued by injuries.
Davis didn’t attempt a field goal and scored just one point before leaving.
Without Davis clogging the middle, Allen, who missed the last five games with a bruised back, made his first 10 shots and helped the Cavs take a 57-49 halftime lead.
The Cavs welcomed James back with a video tribute during an early timeout. After a montage of clips, including some from 2016, James waved to the crowd and then blew kisses to show his appreciation.