Cavs Hammer Pistons in Delonte West's Return

After nursing a broken right wrist since January 15, Delonte West returned from a 16-game absence to torch the Detroit Pistons for 25 points.

West came out shooting with confidence right from the opening tip and showed no signs of rust. He scored 13 of his points in the first quarter, and made all five of his attempts from behind the arc to carry the Cavaliers to a 99-78 victory. 

"It almost seemed like he was never gone," said teammate LeBron James. "He worked himself back in the game. He was able to knock down his first few shots and keep his rhythm."

Cleveland dominated from start-to-finish and had the game wrapped up by halftime. After leading 31-17 after the first quarter, the Cavs outscored the Pistons 36-17 in the second to take a commanding 67-34 lead at the break. 

The Cavs continued to get the job done on the defensive end in the second half. LeBron James had the crowd roaring after swatting Allen Iverson's attempted lay up into the front row. This took away any momentum the Pistons thought they could build on, and the MVP chants started. James finished behind West with 20 points and nine assists in just 30 minutes. 

Cleveland's ability to spread the floor and move the ball gave them wide open looks that they were able to knock down. Everybody was touching the ball on the offensive end, leading to five Cavs players scoring in double figures. Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 16 points and eight rebounds and Mo Williams scored 11. Wally Szczerbiak led the Cavs' bench with 15 points.

For the ice-cold Pistons, tonight's loss was their sixth straight and their 15th in 20 games. They have now dropped to an even 27-27 for the year, and trail the Cavs by 16 games in the Central division.

If that wasn't bad enough, tonight's game started a six-game road trip which could drop their winning percentage below .500. The rest of their trip consists of Miami, New Orleans, Orlando, and Boston before returning home to take on Denver on March 3.

The Cavs meanwhile, will go on a road trip of their own starting at the end of this week. They will host the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday before traveling to Texas to take on the Rockets and the Spurs on back-to-back nights.

Tonight's win improves Cleveland's record to 43-11, and they now lead the Boston Celtics (45-12) by percentage points for the best record in the East. They trail only the Los Angeles Lakers (46-10) for the best record in the league.