The Cleveland Cavaliers were looking for a bounce-back performance on Friday night against the visiting Detroit Pistons, and they got it.
Cleveland(8-5) led by as many as 27 points and defeated the Pistons(2-9) 98-78.
Here is the Great, Not so Great, and the Bottom Line of Cleveland’s win over the Pistons.
The Great for the Cavaliers:
-Darius Garland did it all for Cleveland on Friday night. He scored 21 points, including four threes, and dished out seven assists as he was lobbing it left and right to Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley at the rim. Garland also added two rebounds and two steals.
DG to Mobley…OMG 😍 pic.twitter.com/TRLfyutNA6
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) November 13, 2021
-Evan Mobley, who was the third overall pick, got a chance to face the number one overall pick in Cade Cunningham on Friday night, and as he has done all year long, Mobley filled out the stat sheet. He had 16 points, seven rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. According to the team, Mobley became the fastest Cavs rookie to grab 100 rebounds since Brad Daugherty (12 games) and Hot Rod Williams (13 games) in 1986.
-Cedi Osman was outstanding off the Cavs’ bench. He scored 17 points.
–Defense: Cleveland held the Pistons to 78 points on .367% shooting from the field. In addition, they forced 23 turnovers, which turned into 27 points. The 78 points are the lowest amount of points they’ve allowed in a game since 2016.
Third Quarter Defense: The Cavaliers held the Pistons to 11 points in the third. Detroit(5/20) shot 25% from the floor. Cleveland led by as much as 22 in the quarter and took complete control of the game.
Not so Great for the Cavaliers:
-Cleveland did have 21 turnovers on Friday. Not a big deal on this night because it only led to 11 Piston points, but against a better team, this could have been a problem.
Bottom Line:
The Cavs did what good teams do to a bad team, and that’s beat them up. In addition, it was good to see this team come out with a level of anger after the tough loss to the Wizards that snapped their four-game winning streak.
“We’ve got the bark and the bite right now,” Garland said postgame. “Everybody is jelling and is fun to be around. It’s a lot of fun.”
What’s Next:
Cleveland gets back at it on Saturday night at home against the Boston Celtics.
Best of the Rest:
Jarrett Allen’s streak of five straight double-doubles ended on Friday night as he chipped in with 11 points and seven rebounds, and this beautiful dunk below:
Make way for @_bigjayy_ ‼️ pic.twitter.com/tnLF0uznML
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) November 13, 2021
-Isaac Okoro added nine points and nine rebounds.
-Ricky Rubio had five points, nine assists, and five steals off the bench.
-Lamar Stevens left with a right ankle sprain in the second quarter and did not return.
-Kevin Love (Health and Safety Protocols) and Lauri Markkanen (Health and Safety Protocols) are still out. However, Love was in the arena on Friday night and joined the team on the bench.
-Jerami Grant led the Pistons with 16 points and Cunningham added nine points, six rebounds, and three assists.
Watch below as Garland, Mobley, and Osman react to team’s win over Pistons:
