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 On Sunday, in a 103-80 loss to the Detroit Pistons, the Cavs
didn't even look worthy of playoff consideration.
After taking a 15-point lead early on in the second quarter, the
Cavaliers fell apart during a 33-11 Detroit run that included an
18-0 spurt in which point guard Brandon Jennings had eight points.
That surge gave the Pistons a 50-47 halftime lead.
"I thought we started extremely well but we lost our energy and we
lost our competitiveness, and that shouldn't happen," Cleveland
coach David Blatt said.
Detroit carried the momentum into the third quarter, starting the
second half on an 18-6 run to boost its lead to 15. That cushion
ballooned to as many as 27 points in the fourth, nearly matching the
final margin of the Cavs' last home loss -- a 127-98 defeat at the
hands of the Atlanta Hawks on Dec. 17.
 "I don't know what turned it," Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said.
"Guys made a lot better effort on the defensive end of the floor. We
started getting back, and shots started going in the basket. We
played with more energy. I have absolutely no idea what turned it. I
wish I did, because then I could do it every night."
Jennings finished with 25 points to pace the Pistons, who put six
players in double digits and shot 17-for-31 on 3-pointers (54.8
percent) as a team, setting a franchise record for makes in a game.
Center Andre Drummond added 16 points and 17 rebounds for Detroit
(7-23).
Both Cleveland and Detroit dealt with dramatic personnel changes in
the last week, with the Cavs (18-12) losing center Anderson Varejao
to season-ending Achilles surgery on his left leg and the Pistons
waiving former All-Star forward Josh Smith.
The Pistons are adjusting well to the move, going 2-0 since Smith
was released, while the Cavs are 1-2 record without Varejao.
The Cavs were completely outclassed by the Pistons' shooters as
Cleveland managed to connect on just five of 29 shots from 3-point
range (17.2 percent) while shooting 37.8 percent overall from the
field. Cleveland also committed 18 turnovers that led to 21 points
for the Pistons, while Detroit coughed the ball up just 11 times,
set up 12 points.
Forward Kevin Love (20 points, 10 rebounds) was one of three Cavs to
log a double-double. He was joined by forwards James (17 points, 10
rebounds) and Tristan Thompson (18 points, 11 rebounds). Love
recorded at least 20 points and at least 10 boards for the seventh
time this season.
James also had a game-high seven assists in the absence of point
guard Kyrie Irving, but he shot just 5-for-19 from the field to go
along with seven turnovers.
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"I was very careless tonight with the ball, I had a couple of
unforced turnovers," James said.
About the only thing to go the Cavs' way Sunday was the fact that
both James (left quadriceps soreness) and forward Shawn Marion
(rolled left ankle) were able to re-enter the game following
halftime after they both went to the locker room for treatment in
the second quarter.
"Every game is a learning experience for us," James said. "We're not
a very good team. As far as on the court, we're still trying to find
our way as well. We've won some good games, we've lost some games.
But right now we're just not very good in every aspect of the game
that we need to be to compete every night."
NOTES: Cleveland G Kyrie Irving missed his second consecutive game
because of a left knee contusion. Coach David Blatt said he hopes
Irving will return to the lineup Tuesday in Atlanta. ... Detroit
coach Stan Van Gundy said waiving F Josh Smith wasn't meant as a
wakeup call for the rest of his team. "We did it to go in a
different direction with our own team in terms of developing some
other guys and also for the flexibility that it gives us in the
summer moving forward," Van Gundy said. "Having another $8 million
in cap space helps us a great deal." ... After benching F Kevin Love
for the entire fourth quarter in the Cavs' 98-89 win in Orlando on
Friday and holding the Magic to just 14 points in the final period,
Blatt insisted that Love's absence wasn't the reason for the team's
suddenly staunch defense. "I didn't feel a great defensive uplift
when Kevin was not in there," Blatt said. "I just think we played
properly and we matched up really well in a situation where it would
have been tough for him to match up."
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