Winning ugly. It’s a term that the Cavaliers have come to know a couple of times over the past few weeks of their current streak, and it was on display again Tuesday night in a rather brutal 79-73 win over the Detroit Pistons. The win was the 13th in a row for the Cavaliers, and they improve to an eye-popping 36-1 at home.

The game started similar to the match-up with the Mavericks on Sunday, as the Pistons got off to a hot start, leading 19-12 at the end of the first quarter. Cleveland though started to rally, as they started hitting some shots and driving the lane more as they rallied for a late second quarter surge, outscoring Detroit 31-25 in the second quarter to tie the game at 44 at the half. LeBron James hit a layup and foul in the last seconds of the quarter to tie the match-up.

The battle went back and forth in the third quarter, as Detroit tried to keep it to a half-court, slug it out affair, while the Cavs kept trying to up tempo the game, but the Pistons wouldn’t allow it. Cleveland was able to grab a slight lead, and were up by five, at 62-58 at the end of three.

Cleveland, as they have been able to do a number of times this season, were able to keep it close, and found themselves tied at 69 with 4:37 to play. That’s when they turned it on, as James hit a free throw to make it 70-69, then Mo Williams recorded a block on Allen Iverson, and Anderson Varejao hit a layup to make it 72-69 with 3:41 left to play.

A James driving layup and foul shot made it 75-69 with 2:53 left, then a key Detroit turnover and another James lay-in clinched it at 77-69 with 2:15 left. The Pistons simply could not match Cleveland’s play down the stretch, which has been a key for the Cavs all season, mostly at home where they are simply unbeatable. James had a game-high 25 points and 12 rebounds. Delonte West added 12 for the Cavs, who held Detroit to just 35 percent shooting. Richard Hamilton had 13 for the Pistons.

The team got another gift as the Lakers fell in Charlotte to the Bobcats, meaning they are now 58-16, and with the Cavs at 61-13, they have a full three-game lead over them for best record in the NBA with eight games to play. The road is calling, as the team has a matchup in DC vs the Wizards on Thursday night at 8pm