Omari Sankofa II

Detroit Pistons' loss to Cavs shows weaknesses before playoffs The Detroit Pistons appear headed for a playoff rematch with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and they know what they need to fix before then.

The Pistons came away unhappy with their two recent performances vs the Cavs, a potential playoff foe.

“If we’re outworked, this isn’t going to be the result that we want."

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Green said they got outworked on rebounds and 50-50 balls tonight, which "isn't their identity." Said they can't have poor effort

JB said Cade's 14 assists showed he tried to make the right decisions while dealing with multiple defenders. "It surprises me that as much as he drives, he only has two free throws tonight."

JB on the team's defense effort: "I’m frustrated with the effort level, the attention to detail on that end of the floor … when we did get stops we weren’t able to get the offensive rebound.

If we’re outworked, this isn’t going to be the result that we want."

FINAL: Cavaliers 113, Pistons 109. Snaps a six-game winning streak on the road. Cunningham had a double-double (10 points, 14 assists) but shot 4-16 overall. Pistons gave up 17 3-pointers and couldn't sustain their own offense tonight

Schroder gets inside for a layup, Duren can't corral a tough pass inside from Cade, Harden scores inside. Pistons are down 112-105 with under a minute left

Back-to-back buckets by Duren. Pistons are down 107-105 with under two minutes left

Back-to-back blocks by Robinson and Cunningham lead to points on the other end both times. Cut it to two before a 3 from Mobley. Pistons are down 104-99 with 4:23 to go

Ausar's responsible for three of their five steals in the 4th. He's been so good for them

Pistons had two steals entering the 4th. They have five steals within the 4th with 6:02 to go, giving them some juice on offense. Down 101-96 after a Robinson steal leads to a transition layup for Jenkins

Ausar gets inside for a dunk, immediately steals the ball from Harden and lobs to Green for a one-handed dunk. The energy the Pistons need

End of 3: Cavs 89, Pistons 80. Tobias had 17 pts in the 3rd on 5-6 overall shooting. Rest of the team scored 15 on 5-13 shooting. Weird game for them tonight. Cunningham's struggling (8 pts, 10 assts, 4-15 shooting) They haven’t forced many turnovers or gotten out in transition.

Second game in a row Tobias is cooking in the second half

Cavs 81, Pistons 75 with 2:13 left in the 3rd. They've committed five turnovers this quarter but have shot well, with Harris stepping up with 12 of their 27 points on 4-4 shooting

Jarrett Allen (right knee) is doubtful to return for the Cavs

Also, Cade is only 4-14 from the floor. Has had a tough time finishing at the rim. He also has 10 assists

Been an atypical game so far. Pistons have only forced 3 turnovers and have four fastbreak points. Losing the points in the paint battle, 28-24. But they've shot the ball well – 50% overall, 8-15 from 3. Down one, 67-66

Halftime: Cavs 54, Pistons 48. Shot 8-22 in the 2nd after going 10-19 in the 1st quarter. They’re 6-12 from 3, tho. Haven't converted in the paint enough. Cavs are chucking, 7-25 from deep.

Duren: 9 pts, 4 rebs
Cunningham: 8 pts, 6 assts
Thompson: 7 pts, 6 rebs

Cavs are on a 15-6 run and have their biggest lead, 48-38. Rare night where the Pistons have been better from 3 than inside. Only 8 points in the paint so far

Pistons are now 5-9 from 3. Already exceeded their total on Sunday, shooting 4-30 from deep against the Magic

End of 1: Pistons 27, Cavs 25. Started cold but finished the quarter hot, shooting 10-19 overall and 4-6 from 3. Cunningham, Duren and Holland (who is 2-2 from 3) all have six points.

Ron Holland struggling on 3s, but Pistons want him to keep shooting Ron Holland II is a strong fit on a Detroit Pistons team that wins by locking down defensively and in the paint. His 3-point jumper is rough, though.

Ron Holland is 2-2 from 3. Just wrote on Sunday about the Pistons wanting him to keep shooting www.freep.com/story/sports...

Pistons are 3-5 from 3 after Daniss knocks one down to give them their first lead, 24-23. Promising start after a string of bad shooting performances

LeVert just checked in for him with 1:21 in the clock. Pistons went with an Ausar-Holland lineup for about four minutes

Ausar picked up his second foul at the 5:35 mark. Hasn't checked out yet with two minutes left in the 1st

Beef Stew checked in at the 6:24 mark. First action in more than three weeks since they played the Hornets Feb. 9

Pistons answer the Cavs' 9-2 run with a 9-2 run of their own to tie the game at 11. Much better energy after an early timeout by JB

Cade just knocked down the Pistons' first field goal at the 8:36 mark. Down 11-4 to start this one, 1-6 from the floor as a team

JB on the anonymous quote from the Cavs locker room (reported by @clevelanddotcom) that the Pistons aren't in their class: "I have no response. If you mean it, you don't say it anonymously."

JB said he thought their second half against the Magic on Sunday was their best defensive half since New York