Drummond and Jackson combine for 48, too much to handle for the Cavs
Drummond and Jackson combine for 48, too much to handle for the Cavs
AUBURN HILLS: With his team down by four and less than 3 minutes to play, Andre Drummond was fouled intentionally. It's a strategy opposing teams will keep employing as long as the Detroit big man is making about 40 percent of his free throws.
Drummond had 25 points and 18 rebounds and made some crucial free throws down the stretch, helping the Pistons rally to a 104-99 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night.
LeBron James scored 23 of his 30 points in the first half for the Cavs.
Image courtesy: NBA entertainment.
Drummond's free throw with 2:07 left gave the Pistons a 98-97 advantage. It was 102-99 with 13.8 seconds remaining after Reggie Jackson made two free throws for Detroit. J.R. Smith then missed a contested 3-pointer from near the top of the key.
Jackson had 23 points and 12 assists for the Pistons, and Ersan Ilyasova added 20 points. Detroit snapped a four-game losing streak. The Cavs lost their second straight after winning eight in a row.
The Cavs led 97-93 when they started intentionally fouling Drummond. He made two free throws with 2:58 remaining, and after the Pistons tied it on a basket by Jackson, Cleveland fouled Drummond again. This time he made one of two free throws.
Down by one, James passed out of a double team to Kevin Love, who missed from the corner before the Pistons turned the ball over. Then James, doubled again, threw the ball away with 48.8 seconds remaining.
Jackson missed a floater, but Cleveland's Timofey Mozgov missed from the baseline and the Cavaliers had to foul. Jackson made two free throws with 21.3 seconds remaining. James answered with a driving layup, but Jackson was fouled again and pushed the lead back to three.
Quarter by quarter
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 FINAL SCORE
Cleveland Cavaliers 27 29 25 18 99
Detroit Pistons 31 24 20 29 104
Warriors improve to 12-0 with 115-110 win over Raptors
OAKLAND: Stephen Curry scored 37 points to lead the defending champion Golden State Warriors to their 12th straight win to open the season, a hard-fought 115-110 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night.
Klay Thompson added 19 and Andrew Bogut scored 13 for the Warriors, who are off to the best start since Dallas won the first 14 games in 2002-03. Golden State needs just three more wins to equal the NBA record of 15-0 held by the 1948-49 Washington Capitols and the 1993-94 Houston Rockets.
It didn't come easy as Toronto fought back from an 18-point deficit and trailed by just one late in the game with the ball. But Kyle Lowry was called for an offensive foul and Curry hit two free throws to help seal the win.
Lowry and DeMar DeRozan scored 28 points apiece for the Raptors, who have lost five of seven following a 5-0 start.
Quarter by quarter
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 FINAL SCORE
Golden State Warriors 29 34 27 27 115
Toronto Raptors 25 22 36 25 110
Results: Washington Wizards 115 beat Milwaukee Bucks 86, Brooklyn Nets 90 beat Atlanta Hawks 88, Detroit Pistons 104 beat Cleveland Cavaliers 99, Minnesota Timberwolves 103 beat Miami Hawk 91, New York Knicks 102 beat Charlotte Hornets 94, Denver Nuggets 115 beat New Orleans Pelicans 98, Golden State Warrior 115 beat Toronto Raptors 110.
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