LeBron James, Cavaliers Cruise to Blowout Win vs. Blake Griffin, Pistons
It appeared as if the Detroit Pistons were gearing up for a run at the Eastern Conference's elite when they traded for Blake Griffin, but that has been far from the case.
The three-time defending conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers reminded them how far they still have to go Monday with a 112-90 victory at Quicken Loans Arena. Detroit fell further out of the postseason picture and dropped to 2-9 in its last 11, while Cleveland snapped a two-game losing streak and maintained its grasp on the No. 3 seed.
LeBron James was brilliant as usual with a near triple-double (31 points, seven rebounds and seven assists), but it was far from a solo effort, as Larry Nance Jr. thrived against Blake Griffin and Detroit's frontcourt with 22 points and 15 boards.
The primary storyline entering Monday's contest was how a depleted Cleveland rotation would deal with Griffin and Andre Drummond in the frontcourt. Kevin Love is out with a hand injury, and the Cavaliers announced Tristan Thompson is out with a right ankle sprain.
Compounding the problem was the fact Cleveland is a dreadful 28th in the league in defensive rating, per NBA.com, and is often poorly equipped to deal with talented players even at full strength.
Griffin stuffed the stat sheet as a result with 25 points, eight rebounds and five assists behind 10-of-22 shooting from the field and three made three-pointers, but Cleveland prevented Detroit's supporting cast from providing the former Los Angeles Clipper with enough help to win on the road.
Drummond struggled with foul trouble and scored just 15 points despite making all five field-goal attempts, and he was the only Piston outside Griffin to score more than 11 in the blowout loss.
Dave McMenamin of ESPN noted Cleveland finished with the advantage in the paint:
On the other end, the absence of Love and Thompson put additional onus on James, which hasn't been a problem of late.
The four-time MVP has accepted additional responsibility as the season enters its stretch run, averaging a triple-double throughout the month of February and notching a triple-double Saturday as well. He has overwhelmed opponents with his ability to impact the game in a variety of ways, and that didn't change against Detroit.
He is nearly impossible to defend in any instance, but that was especially the case Monday with his outside shot falling.
James drilled five triples, which forced the Pistons to honor his shooting stroke and in turn created additional driving lanes for him to exploit as he racked up the points and helped his team seize control. The only real drama in the second half was whether James would reach 40 points, but there was no need to play him in the fourth quarter with the game well in hand.
It wasn't all the James show, as Nance quickly addressed any concerns about Cleveland's thin frontcourt with his highest scoring output in a Cavaliers uniform.
He used his athleticism to create matchup problems for the Pistons, frequently beating the opposition down court in transition for easy looks and utilizing his vertical leap to throw down jaw-dropping dunks in halfcourt sets.
Nance carried the offense for stretches in the second quarter and prevented the Cavaliers from falling behind early with 18 points by intermission. He was the only one of James' teammates with more than four points at halftime, although Jordan Clarkson (11 points and six boards) and Rodney Hood (13 points) bolstered their final lines in garbage time.
Cleveland will turn its attention toward a six-game road trip starting Wednesday against the Denver Nuggets, while Detroit returns home to face the Toronto Raptors the same day.
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