Pistons Shut Down Under Manned Cavaliers 84-74

Posted by Jeff Sack under Main

The final home game at the Q Arena?in Cleveland is?”Fan Appreciation Night” for the fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Patrons who are in attendance are eligible to win prizes, including the shirts off their favorite players backs (why anyone would want a sweat drenched uniform jersey has always puzzled me.) Hopefully every fan in attendance Wednesday night walked out with a prize, because the game was a “Booby Prize.” In a game that was meaningless in the standings, Cleveland coach Mike Brown?gave LeBron James, and center Zydrunas Ilgauskas the night off.? And even though the Detroit Piston starters only played 12 minutes each, the Pistons easily dispatched the Cavaliers winning 84-74. Possibly the only good news of the night is LBJ won his first NBA scoring title, and almost certainly not his last.

The Cleveland Cavaliers vanquished their demon the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals last year. The 2008 edition of the Cavaliers would never have been able to pull that feat off. The more I see of this team, their chances of going far this season in the playoffs decreases in my mind. I wrote the other night that I did not think Cleveland could survive a first round matchup against the Washington Wizards. Now I am almost convinced, that unless the Wizards are decimated by injury, and given their fragility that’s never out of the realm of possibility, Cleveland will be one and done this season. That is a huge step backwards for a team that was truly just a point guard away from being contenders for another Eastern crown.

Cleveland actually dominated the first half, as Detroit looked like they needed a road map to find the basket in the first quarter. The Cavaliers ended the first period with a 21-13 lead.? They still were on top at the half as Cleveland led 39-32, when the two teams retired to their respective locker rooms. But Detroit came out energized in the second half, as they cut the Cavaliers lead to juts 3 points at the end of the third quarter, Cleveland ahead 59-56. In the final period it was the Cavaliers who looked like they needed the road map, as the men from Motown outscored them 28-15 to take the victory.

The Pistons bench stepped up big time, as?Arron Afflalo led the team with 15 points, 8 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals. Jason Maxiell scored 13 points, 6 rebounds, Rodney Stuckey completed his rookie regular season with 12 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist. Walter Herrmann scored 15 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, Juan Dixon scored 10 points, 9 assists, 1 rebound.

Wally Szczerbiak led Cleveland with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal. Delonte West was the only other Cleveland player in double figures as he scored 11 points, 7 assists, 3 steals, 2 rebounds. Cleveland shot just 32.9% (26-79) from the floor for the game, and went 0-9 from outside the arc. Detroit finishes their campaign 59-23, the Cavaliers end with a 45-37 record.

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