It can’t be an every-other-month thing for the Cavaliers, can it?
The Wine and Gold struggled through January, finishing the month off at 7-8. They bounced back to go 9-2 in February, but it’s been rough-sledding since the calendar turned to March – dropping to 1-4 after falling for the third straight game, a 106-101 defeat in what might be Cleveland’s final appearance ever at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
One game after losing Andrew Bogut for the season after just 58 seconds of action on Monday night, the Cavaliers got some good news when J.R. Smith was activated and ready for action on Thursday night after missing the previous two-and-a-half months following a fractured thumb suffered in late December against the Bucks.
Smith, coming off the bench in his first game back, expectedly didn’t decorate the boxscore on Thursday night. In fact, he struggled mightily – going just 1-for-8 from three-point range and 1-of-9 overall. But the player who’s widely-regarded as the team’s toughest perimeter defender and one of the league’s most prolific marksmen will only improve as he gets his sea legs back during the season’s stretch run.
Despite Detroit playing the previous evening in Indiana, the Pistons seemed to have the fresher legs in crunch time – outscoring the Cavaliers, 33-21, in the final quarter and overcoming a seven-point deficit to start the period.
LeBron James notched his eighth triple-double this season – and 50th of his future Hall of Fame career – on Thursday night, finishing with a game-high 29 points to go with 13 boards and 10 assists.
On the night, James went 12-for-22 from the floor but couldn’t find his range from deep – going 0-of-6 from beyond the arc. With his outside shot not falling, LeBron attacked the rim all night, throwing down six dunks – each seemingly more forceful than the last.
Kyrie Irving continued his stellar play, topping the 20-point plateau for the 13th straight occasion – a career-best – going for 27 points on 11-for-22 shooting, adding five boards and three assists.
Channing Frye was the only other Cavalier in double-figures – scoring all 15 of his points after intermission, going 5-for-7 from long-range in the loss.
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