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CLEVELAND -- Delonte West scored 25 points in his first game since mid-January and LeBron James added 20, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 99-78 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night.
James, who scored 55 points Friday night against Milwaukee, played just 31 minutes, added nine assists and five rebounds.
Allen Iverson led the Pistons with 14 points.
Pistons blitzed by Cavaliers, fall to .500 overall
Detroit coach Michael Curry yells at Allen Iverson during the first quarter.CLEVELAND -- Delonte West scored 25 points in his first game since mid-January and LeBron James added 20, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 99-78 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night.
West, sidelined since Jan. 15 with a fractured right wrist, was 8-of-11 from the field and made all five of his 3-point attempts. He scored 13 points in the first quarter when the Cavaliers put the game away against the sluggish Pistons, who have lost six straight for the first time since February 2004, and fell to 27-27. James, who scored 55 points Friday night against Milwaukee, played just 31 minutes, added nine assists and five rebounds. Allen Iverson led the Pistons with 14 points. The Cavaliers, who trailed only at 2-0, had three big runs in the first half, the first two coming less than 15 minutes into the contest. Leading 9-8 early in the first quarter, Cleveland went on a 15-0 run, sparked by two 3-pointers by West and five points by James, pushing the lead to 16. The Cavaliers added a 12-0 spurt early in the second quarter, building the lead to 43-19. That burst featured two 3-pointers from Mo Williams and six points by Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
A 13-0 run later in the period, sparked by seven points by James and five by West, including another 3-pointer, pushed the lead to 63-29 with 1:46 left before halftime. Cleveland built the lead to 36 in the third quarter against a reeling Detroit team. The news doesn't get any better for the Pistons, who have lost 15 of 20. Sunday's game began a five-game trip, which also features stops in Miami, New Orleans, Orlando and Boston. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers, who own the NBA's best home record at 25-1, lead the Pistons by 16 games in the Central Division. Ilgauskas added 16 for Cleveland, while Szczerbiak scored 15. Walter Herrmanm scored 13 for Detroit.
Road Trip Blues
Couldn’t have picked a less desirable time to be on a five-game losing streak. The Pistons’ upcoming road trip will include the home courts of four of the top five Eastern Conference teams (Cleveland, Boston, Orlando, Miami) and a Western Conference contender (New Orleans), in a short span of nine days.
And then “home sweet home,” right? I wish. The first game back is against the Nuggets, a team whose now formidable status needs no explanation for Pistons fans. A 14-15 home record goes without saying. Pessimism is a rampant mantra in these semi-dark days of Detroit basketball, and that state of mind could well worsen in the coming days.
In the spirit of the moment, the Pistons don’t stand much of a chance against a Cavaliers team that has only dropped one of its 25 home games. If you’re a Detroit fan with a phobia of the sub-.500 realm, get ready to call your local shrink. This could get ugly. You have been warned.
West scores 25 in return, James adds 20 as Cavs send Pistons to sixth straight loss
Delonte West scored 25 points in his first game since mid-January and LeBron James added 20, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 99-78 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night. West, sidelined since Jan. 15 with a fractured right wrist, was 8-of-11 from the field and made all five of his 3-point attempts. He scored 13 points in the first quarter when the Cavaliers put the game away against the sluggish Pistons, who have lost six straight for the first time since February 2004, and fell to 27-27. James, who scored 55 points Friday night against Milwaukee, played just 31 minutes, added nine assists and five rebounds. Allen Iverson led the Pistons with 14 points.
The Cavaliers, who trailed only at 2-0, had three big runs in the first half, the first two coming less than 15 minutes into the contest. Leading 9-8 early in the first quarter, Cleveland went on a 15-0 run, sparked by two 3-pointers by West and five points by James, pushing the lead to 16. The Cavaliers added a 12-0 spurt early in the second quarter, building the lead to 43-19. That burst featured two 3-pointers from Mo Williams and six points by Zydrunas Ilgauskas. A 13-0 run later in the period, sparked by seven points by James and five by West, including another 3-pointer, pushed the lead to 63-29 with 1:46 left before halftime.
Cleveland built the lead to 36 in the third quarter against a reeling Detroit team. The news doesn't get any better for the Pistons, who have lost 15 of 20. Sunday's game began a five-game trip, which also features stops in Miami, New Orleans, Orlando and Boston. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers, who own the NBA's best home record at 25-1, lead the Pistons by 16 games in the Central Division. Ilgauskas added 16 for Cleveland, while Szczerbiak scored 15. Walter Herrmanm scored 13 for Detroit.
Rihards Kuksiks scored 17 points and hit a pair of late 3-pointers as Arizona State (No. 11 ESPN/USA Today, No. 14 AP) defeated Arizona 70-68 on Sunday night despite blowing a 17-point second half lead.
Kuksiks connected twice from beyond the arc in the final 2:50, with both shots giving ASU the lead. Jeff Pendergraph had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and he hit the decisive free throws with 25 seconds left for the Sun Devils, who won their fifth straight.
Nic Wise scored 17 points for Arizona (18-9, 8-6), which snapped a seven-game win streak.
Cleveland 99, Detroit 78
Team FIC Differential: Cavaliers +40.6, Pistons -40.6
The Cavaliers (43-11) jumped out to a 33-point lead at halftime and never looked back against the Pistons (27-27). Delonte West had 25 points and 5 rebounds in his return from injury, LeBron James posted 20 points and 9 assists in just 31 minutes, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 16 points and 8 boards. Cleveland turned the ball over just five times and shot 45% from the field. Allen Iverson led with 14 points and 5 assists, Jason Maxiell tallied 11 points and 9 rebounds, and Richard Hamilton contributed 11 points and 6 assists in the loss.
Game FIC Scores
LeBron James, Cleveland – 22.3
Delonte West, Cleveland – 21.8
Jason Maxiell, Detroit – 11.1
Richard Hamilton, Detroit – 9.5
Nuggets' Nene Injured
As if the Denver Nuggets needed to be put in a bigger hole. They just ended an eight-game road trip (which was extended because of the All-Star break) with a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, and will finally return home to face the Boston Celtics. Now, they will likely play that game without the services of Nene, their starting center.
Nene's right knee collided with Richard Jefferson's knee as Jefferson attempted to cut through traffic on a crucial possession late in the fourth quarter in a close game. The official report lists the injury as a right knee contusion and mentions that he will be evaluated Monday. Nene was helped off the court and later left the locker room on crutches. Denver played against the Bucks without Kenyon Martin, and Head Coach George Karl mentioned before the game that Carmelo Anthony and Anthony Carter are also not completely healthy. Karl was unsure whether or not Martin would be available Monday against Boston.
The Nuggets is currently the third seed in the Western Conference if the playoffs started today, but Portland and Houston (the two teams immediately trailing the Nuggets) are both on winning streaks. Denver will play the Celtics on Monday, the Hawks on Wednesday, and the Lakers on Friday.
Ellis Out Once Again
Monta Ellis of the Golden State Warriors made a huge mistake by riding the high-speed moped during the summer that led to a mangled left ankle. His team suspended him for 30 games, resulting in $3-million of lost salary, and he missed 43 games before returning to action on January 23rd. Little did he know, though, that his injury would continue to linger despite the Warriors taking his rehab very slow. The Warriors announced today that Ellis "has experienced occasional stiffness" in the same ankle he injured in the summer and will now sit out the next week or two. In a press release, the team also said that Ellis will continue "advanced rehabilitation on a daily basis" with the team's training staff.
For those in the media that believed that Ellis would never be able to return to the same level of play he achieved last season, this news is nothing more than more fodder for the fire. Ellis had a career year in 2007-08, scoring 20.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game while shooting a stellar .531 from the field. His efficiency and explosion at such a young age pointed to a potentially very long career of scoring.But Ellis has indeed showed flashes of himself in the 13 games he's been back in action despite only scoring 13.4 points per game. His decline in scoring is a result of two things: 1) playing in games is nothing like practice, so he's working himself into the right shape and 2) the team Ellis returned to looks nothing like the Warriors of last year, so he's adjusting to a completely different roster.
He's been starting to come around, though, including a 20-point performance in the game before the All-Star break against the Blazers and a 17-point game against the Knicks in the game prior. The efficiency hasn't quite come along yet, but against the Oklahoma City Thunder last night, he played relatively well in spurts, scoring 14 points on 7-13 shooting. The stiffness in the ankle did seem a bit more evident in that game against the Thunder. He left the bench with about 3 minutes left in the game and was seen riding the stationary bicycle in the tunnel during the second quarter. Head coach Don Nelson pulled Ellis from the game in clutch time in favor for C.J. Watson, who played well to help the Warriors pull away and eventually beat OKC.After two weeks of rest, all eyes will be on how Ellis looks upon his return. Expectations are very high for the 23-year old, who signed a $66-million contract in the summer, and he must put together a string of consistent performances for the team and its fans to once again have full-faithed confidence in his abilities.
Cause for a pause: Nelson reaches 1,300-win level
Don Nelson herded his assistants out of their offices and onto the court at Oakland, posing everybody for a postgame photograph to commemorate his 1,300th victory.
The Golden State Warriors got their coach to that milestone Saturday night in memorable fashion as well. Their 133-120 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder was pure, vintage Nellieball. The Warriors played indifferent defense and had 17 turnovers, yet produced more than enough relentless offense to counterbalance the mistakes. Nelson lost his temper and nearly got kicked out in the first quarter but calmed down enough to watch a fourth-quarter surge.
Only Lenny Wilkens , who won 1,332 games, has coached more NBA victories than Nelson, 68. Nelson claimed the outcome didn't put him in a reflective mood -- just an appreciative one. "I'm in good company with Lenny," Nelson said. "It's just good to finally get it over with." Nelson probably will pass Wilkens early next season if he returns -- which is more than likely, since Nelson coach signed a lucrative contract extension through 2011 in late October.
Magic guard Mickael Pietrus missed Sunday's game because of a sprained right wrist.
Clippers forward Al Thornton (sore right foot) didn't play.
Warriors guard Monta Ellis will rest his surgically repaired left ankle for at least one week after experiencing occasional stiffness.
Curry seeking fighters
Pistons coach says he wants players to show effort, battle their way through losing streak. The Pistons don't have losing streaks like this very often. Sunday's 99-78 loss to Cleveland was the Pistons' sixth consecutive setback, a season-high. They've also lost 16 of their last 22 games, falling to .500 from 10 games over (21-11 on Jan. 4). In the midst of this losing streak, coach Michael Curry said it's important for his team to fight. "I'm sure anytime you lose, it affects it (confidence)," Curry said. "But what are you going to do to correct it? I'm more into that. "If your confidence is down, get your shot down, get more shots, work a little harder, play a little harder, get some easy ones in the game. Be there for defensive stops, help your teammate, help yourself. "Guys have to hold each other accountable out there."
Curry was not satisfied with the Pistons' effort. But he's finding it tough to get his team to fight through this difficult time. "I've been through harder things," Curry said. "Look at me as a player and how I got to this point. Fighting, that's the easy part for me. Things never came easy for me, so this is easy. But trying to relay that to guys, that's the tough part, trying to get them to understand that when you're in a situation like this, all you can do is fight."
But, as Curry has often said this season, this is a different Pistons team. "Unfortunately, for guys who are new coming here, this is their first time kind of experiencing it, and for the guys who have been here, this is their first time experiencing it now," Curry said. "This is a tough time, the first time they're experiencing tough times in the regular season. The last few years, the tough times came in the (Eastern) conference finals. "But whenever you get to that point, and it gets really, really tough, you've got to work that much harder and trust each other that much more."
Blazers center Greg Oden sat out his third game since the All-Star break (chipped knee cap).
Nuggets F Nene has right knee contusion
Denver Nuggets forward Nene suffered a right knee contusion late in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 120-117 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Nene, who had 17 points and seven rebounds in 33 minutes before his departure, was on crutches after the game and had ice wrapped around the injury.
LeBron's thoughts
So, what did LeBron James think of the Cavaliers' dismantling of the Pistons? "We had a lot of energy," said James, who had 20 points and nine assists in 30 minutes. "The fans were unbelievable and we had a lot of energy. We took the day off (Saturday) and it looked like everybody was rested. We used that energy in the game. "It was great basketball from start to finish."
James was impressed with teammate Delonte West , who returned from a wrist injury by scoring 25. "He played like he was never out," James said. "He didn't miss a beat. That just shows the chemistry of our team, how a guy can just automatically implement himself into the lineup after being out for a while."
West returns as Cavaliers crush Pistons
The Detroit Pistons have ruled the Central Division for the last six years. Times are changing.Delonte West returned from a 16-game absence to pour in 25 points and lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 99-78 victory over the Pistons on Sunday. LeBron James added 20 points and nine assists and Wally Szczerbiak scored 15 points off the bench for the Cavaliers, who have won four straight. Detroit has dropped six in a row, 15 of its last 20 and is not only in danger of losing its grip on the Central Division but of falling out of the playoff picture all together.
The Pistons put up absolutely no fight right from the start on Sunday as Cleveland took a 31-17 lead after the first quarter and extended it to 67-34 at the break as West went for 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the first 24 minutes. "We were out on the court playing like either we don't like each other, or are we strangers? That was disappointing," Detroit coach Michael Curry said. West finished the game 10-of-14 from the field, including 5-of-5 from beyond the arc, showing no ill effects from the wrist injury that has kept him out for over a month. "Was he injured? He played like he was never out," James said of West. "He didn't miss a beat. That just shows the chemistry of our team. He adds another guy that can attack a defense and guard some of the best perimeter guys on the opposing team." "I stayed ready," West said. "My arm was bothering me a little bit from all the high fives I was getting. When the crowd gets behind you, you can feel the energy in the building and you feel like you can't miss. When the adrenaline gets going, the blood is flowing through your body, it's hard to feel an injury. It's starting to stiffen up now, but I'll be right back in (Monday) and get my treatments."
The Cavaliers shot 56 percent (22-of-39) in the dominating first half. "The spacing was unbelievable," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "The ball movement and decision-making was unbelievable also." Detroit finished the night 32-of-86 (37 percent) from the field and had just two starters reach double figures, led by Allen Iverson's 14. "We stunk the gym up," Iverson said. "We usually play together on the road, and we just acted like strangers out there tonight. We didn't get it done." Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 16 points and Mo Williams scored 11 as most of Cleveland's starters took the fourth quarter off. "We had a lot of energy and played great basketball from start to finish," James said.
Sunday marked the 300th game as head coach for Cavaliers coach Mike Brown (188-112).
Curry said the coaching staff is trying to get Jason Maxiell to attack the defensive boards as well as he does the offensive.
"Max can go in some games and get three offensive boards and no defensive rebounds. The offensive rebounds get you extra possessions offensively, but those defensive rebounds end that possession for the opposing team," Curry said.
Maxiell had nine rebounds, six defensive.