The King Spoils the Return of the Palace Prince
The Palace of Auburn Hills was electric after Tayshaun Prince snagged a rebound and then took it coast to coast finishing with a slam. In his return The Palace Prince recorded 7 points, 2 steals, 4 rebounds, and an impressive block on LeBron James.
The Cleveland Cavaliers jumped out to a 17-8 lead after an 11-2 run. But the Detroit Pistons bounced back formidably, sparked by a 14-0 run to go up 51-44 with 3:30 left in the 2nd quarter.
With 4 seconds left in the half the Detroit Pistons inbounded the ball to newly acquired Reggie Jackson. Jackson then took it up court and with a savvy pump fake drew a foul on a 3-point shot, sinking all three free throws to go into the half giving the Pistons a 62-53 lead. As well as capping off an impressive half of 15 points, 4 assists, and 5 rebounds.
The Pistons opened up the 2nd half strong with five straight points, three of which came from Kentavious-Caldwell Pope after a steal and a pull-up 3 pointer. Kevin Love sparked a strong run by the Cavaliers hitting his sixth 3-point shot of the game as they caught back up, making the score 67-70. At the end of the third quarter Kevin Love had eight 3-pointers and Cleveland lead by a score of 77-74.
It was all LeBron James in the 4th quarter as he took it to the basket nearly every possession. The King crossed over and then drilled a step-back 3 to put the Cavaliers up 94-83 with a little under 3 minutes to go to essentially ice the game. Mid second quarter LeBron got his 5th assist of the game as he dished the ball behind his back to Kevin Love for a 3 pointer.
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This was his 6,136th recorded assist making him the all time leader in NBA history amongst forwards in assists. James ended with 19 points, 11 assists, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, and a block.
Despite Reggie Jackson finishing the night with 22 points, 9 assists, 8 rebounds, and a block, Detroit fell to Cleveland 102-93. To go along with LeBron’s incredible night, Kevin Love had a career high eight 3 pointers making up all of his 24 points. He also totaled 3 assists, and 9 rebounds to lead the Cavaliers to victory.
In defeat the Pistons showed flashes of great team basketball as they led by as many as 14, but also had long stretches where they were held without a basket. In recent games against the Washington Wizards and the Chicago Bulls, Detroit showed signs of losing focus similar to tonight in their loss to the Cavaliers, but were able to overcome them on their way to victories unlike tonight.
In a very weak Eastern Conference it is still quite possible for the Pistons to squeak into the playoffs, even with their record of 23-34. They are just one and a half games out of the would-be currently eighth seeded Brooklyn Nets. However, if the Detroit Pistons are to make a playoff push they need to eliminate these dry spells and put together complete games against the toughest opponents.
Feb 24, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince (22) points up after making basket during the second quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports