Cavs put the clamps on Pistons in 110-91 victory
The Cavaliers snapped their three-game losing streak with the win.
It wasn’t pretty, but the Cleveland Cavaliers were able to come away with a much-needed 110-91 win over the Detroit Pistons. The victory snaps a three-game losing skid. More importantly, it was a return to form defensively.
The Pistons are a much better team this season than last, largely due to their defensive improvements. Their offense remains slightly below league average and looked every bit that way on Monday as they couldn’t develop any consistency on that end.
This was seen most notably with Cade Cunningham. He struggled to make a positive impact offensively as he went 9-26 from the field. He finished with an inefficient 22 points and 7 helpers.
The Cavs played a part in making that happen. Unlike previous games, the rotations were a step ahead and they weren’t allowing dribble penetration anytime someone simply took two dribbles toward the hoop.
Despite the opponent, this was the progress you wanted to see.
The Cavs needed it on Monday considering their poor outside shooting. Cleveland went just 12-44 (27.3%) from three despite generating some decent looks.
Overall, the offense got consistent contributions from everyone. Darius Garland led the team with 22 points and 7 assists on 8-19 shooting.
Jarrett Allen had a strong offensive showing as well. He played with the level of aggression the team needed from him in the two losses to the Houston Rockets. Allen added in 15 points and 11 rebounds in the win.
The Cavs benefited from scoring throughout the lineup. Ty Jerome supplied 15 much-needed points off the bench. Donovan Mitchell contributed an efficient 21 points and 6 assists on 6-12 shooting. Evan Mobley provided 11 points and 14 boards.
This wasn’t a pretty game by any stretch. The offense had a tough time getting going like we’ve come to expect them to. But it was one that you’d gladly take if you are Kenny Atkinson’s group. They needed to show that they could still win ugly.