With a First Round playoff date set for the weekend, neither the Pistons nor the Cavs had any intentions of showing their cards – (or starters) – in Wednesday’s home finale.
Despite the star-power, the regular season wrap-up turned out to be one of the most entertaining games of the season – with the Wine and Gold going on a furious fourth-quarter rally before relenting in overtime – 112-110 – before a packed house at The Q.
Jordan McRae, who joined the team on a 10-day contract in late February, led all scorers with 36 points – including the game-tying trey with 14.6 to play in regulation.
The former Tennessee standout went 14-for-29 from the floor, 3-of-5 from long-range and 5-of-8 from the stripe.
Unfortunately for McRae – who added seven assists and four boards – two of his three misses from the stripe came with 0.9 to play in overtime after being fouled on a three-point attempt by Detroit’s Stanley Johnson. But it’s be tough to fault McRae for the late misses, having logged 46 minutes the previous night in the Canton Charge’s Eastern Conference Finals loss to Sioux Falls.
After trailing for most of the night, the Cavaliers found themselves down 10 – 95-85 – with 5:37 to play. But McRae and Timofey Mozgov keyed an 18-8 run to close the fourth, sending the affair into an extra-session.
In OT, the Wine and Gold tied the game early on Mozgov’s layup, but Spencer Dinwiddie’s jumper with 1:33 to play gave Detroit a two-possession edge and just enough room to take their third game in four tries against Cleveland this season.
With the playoffs just days away, both Stan Van Gundy and Tyronn Lue rested their starters. LeBron James, Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving and J.R. Smith sat for the Cavaliers. Tristan Thompson started – notched his NBA-leading 370th straight appearance, picked up a personal foul five seconds into the contest and took a seat for the rest of the night.
Still, the Cavs featured five players in double-figures.
Richard Jefferson finished with 16 points on 5-for-11 shooting, Channing Frye finished with 14 points, six boards and four assists and Mozgov doubled-up for just the second time this season.
Veteran guard, Dahntay Jones, who signed with the squad earlier in the day as an insurance policy for the playoffs, finished with 13 points, five boards and a pair of assists before fouling out in overtime.
The Cavaliers shot 47 percent from the floor and 39 percent from beyond the arc. Cleveland dominated Detroit in the paint, 50-24, and handed out 21 assists, but the Pistons were deadly from deep on Wednesday – going 16-for-33 from long-range.
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