View Full Version : Detroit (24-3) at Cleveland (17-10) cavs are 12-3 at home
ducks
12-30-2005, 11:07 PM
Detroit (24-3) at Cleveland (17-10)
Preview - Box Score - Recap
Game Info: 1:30 pm EST Sat Dec 31, 2005
TV: NBATV Add to Calendar
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The Detroit Pistons are on pace to win an unprecedented 73 games this season, potentially claiming the label as the greatest regular-season team in NBA history.
LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers will try to cool off the league's hottest team when they meet at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Pistons improved to an NBA-best 24-3 and extended their winning streak to a season-high nine games with a 106-101 victory Thursday over Miami.
A third of the way through the season, Detroit is neck-in-neck with the history-making 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, who were not only 24-3 after 27 games, but also won 18 straight en route to becoming the first team to win 70 regular-season games. The Bulls finished that season 72-10 before going on to win the NBA title.
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Although the potential for making history is within their grasp, the Pistons aren't focused on that.
"We don't look at what the Chicago Bulls did," Richard Hamilton said. "We just want to get home-court advantage."
Knocking off the Heat in a rematch of last season's Eastern Conference finals put Detroit one step closer to that goal.
Chauncey Billups scored 30 points, and Hamilton added 25 and had a season-high nine assists as the Pistons improved to 13-1 in December.
"Chauncey makes big shots," Detroit coach Flip Saunders said. "We put the ball in his hands at the end of the game because he's one of the top-three free-throw shooters in the league, and he makes good decisions."
The lead changed hands 17 times before Billups sank two free throws and made a layup late in the fourth to secure the win. He went 12-for-12 from the free-throw line and had seven assists.
The Cavaliers had their six-game win streak snapped Tuesday with a 96-91 loss to New Jersey, dropping them seven games behind the Central Division-leading Pistons.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored seven of his 21 points during a late 12-0 run that cut the Nets' lead to six.
"We didn't want to get blown out or get embarrassed, being that it's an Eastern Conference team," James said. "We picked it up."
Cleveland couldn't recover completely though, sliding back into a double-digit deficit they couldn't overcome. James, who has scored 30 or more points in 10 of his last 13 games, finished with 31 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
"We can't come back against a team like that being down 18 points," Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. "That's tough to do."
Cleveland has won three of its last four games at home against Detroit.
STANDINGS (through Dec. 29): Pistons - 1st place, Central Division. Cavaliers - 2nd place, 7 GB, Central Division.
PROBABLE STARTERS: Pistons - F Tayshaun Prince, F Rasheed Wallace, C Ben Wallace, G Hamilton, G Billups. Cavaliers - F James, F Drew Gooden, C Ilgauskas, G Larry Hughes, G Eric Snow.
TEAM LEADERS: Pistons - Hamilton, 21.7 ppg; B. Wallace, 12.1 rpg; Billups, 8.6 apg. Cavaliers - James, 30.4 ppg and 5.6 apg; Gooden, 8.3 rpg.
2004-05 SERIES: Tied, 2-2.
LAST MEETING: April 17; Pistons, 90-87. At Detroit, Hamilton had 19 points and six assists, while Billups added 17 points for Detroit. James had 37 points and 11 rebounds in Cleveland's third straight loss.
ROAD/HOME RECORDS: Pistons - 12-2 on the road; Cavaliers - 12-3 at home.
Updated on Friday, Dec 30, 2005 9:27 pm EST
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Team Comparison
Team Record Standings PF PA Road/Home Streak L10
Detroit 24-3 1st Central / 1st East 99.9 91.4 Road 12-2 Won 9 9-1
Cleveland 17-10 2nd Central / 4th East 101.7 97.2 Home 12-3 Lost 1 6-4
Detroit Notes
Dec 30 The Pistons win a season-high ninth straight game on Thursday against Miami. ... G Chauncey Billups connected on 12-of-12 from the free throw line and committed just one turnover in 39 minutes. ... Detroit's starters still contributes most of its points this season. Their reserves scored just nine points. ... The Pistons improved to a league-best 24-3.
Cleveland Notes
Dec 28 The Cavaliers have lost five straight matchups with the Nets and seven in a row at Continental Airlines Arena. ... Starting F Drew Gooden, who had scored 41 points over his previous two games, was held scoreless in 17 minutes Tuesday. The team's leading rebounder at 8.5 boards per game, Gooden grabbed three rebounds and picked up four fouls. ... F LeBron James scored 31 points on 12-of-21 shooting and reached the 30-point plateau for the third time in four games. ... F Donyell Marshall came off the bench to grab 14 rebounds in 32 minutes, helping Cleveland to a 43-39 rebounding edge.
Pistons are 12-2 on the road.
jochhejaam
12-31-2005, 10:35 AM
Pistons are 12-2 on the road.
And Cleveland's 12-3 at home. Pistons favored by 2, should be a good game.
Johnny_Blaze_47
12-31-2005, 10:37 AM
Damn, this is one of those games to get NBATV for.
I might have to call Time Warner if I didn't have errands to run today (damn my gasket blowing in my truck which is leaving me Sirius-less this weekend).
boutons_
12-31-2005, 12:35 PM
"NBATV"
NBA TV is NOT good for watching games. They don't really show many games, but above all, because they put huge, distracting, annoying NBA TV banner across the bottom of the screen, about 20% of the screen, CONTINUOSLY with the NBA TV logo, scores from other games, and stupid noise noises when posting stats. The worst visual presentation of any channel.
NBA TV is only good for watching games that you can't see anywhere else.
Marklar MM
12-31-2005, 01:37 PM
"NBATV"
NBA TV is NOT good for watching games. They don't really show many games, but above all, because they put huge, distracting, annoying NBA TV banner across the bottom of the screen, about 20% of the screen, CONTINUOSLY with the NBA TV logo, scores from other games, and stupid noise noises when posting stats. The worst visual presentation of any channel.
NBA TV is only good for watching games that you can't see anywhere else.
He can sign up for it today, and then cancel after the game...I believe you can do that at least.
jochhejaam
12-31-2005, 02:12 PM
32-20 Cavs at 11:00 2nd Quarter
11-0 start for Cavs 2nd Quarter
43-28 Cavs, Rasheed picks up a tech from the bench...
boutons_
12-31-2005, 02:25 PM
Det extremely cold,
34% vs 48%,
28 - 43,
16 - 21 RBs!!.
I'm not celebrating, the Pistons are not done.
Yes, they are. They're playing like crap, even though they are doing a good job on the boards.
Marklar MM
12-31-2005, 02:35 PM
I think we have missed about 34 wide open shots.
Marklar MM
12-31-2005, 02:36 PM
Yes, they are. They're playing like crap, even though they are doing a good job on the boards.
:)
And Chauncey misses a fucking free throw. Naturally. Does that count as a missed wide-open shot?
FreshPrince22
12-31-2005, 02:42 PM
Wow..... Looks like one of those "nothing falling" type of games. We have missed more wide open jumpers today than the rest of the season combined. Hopefully someone catches fire in the 2nd half or we're screwed.
Marklar MM
12-31-2005, 02:42 PM
And Chauncey misses a fucking free throw. Naturally. Does that count as a missed wide-open shot?
I guess it should...just a microcosm on how bad they are shooting the ball right now.
jochhejaam
12-31-2005, 02:51 PM
And Chauncey misses a fucking free throw. Naturally. Does that count as a missed wide-open shot?
after 33 straight, dang!
Hey, it's not my fault he's a 95% shooter. He has higher expectations than say, Ben. :fro
Warlord23
12-31-2005, 03:03 PM
James is driving into the teeth of the Pistons' D and has scored 4 of his 6 made FGs on layups/dunks. Aren't the Wallaces able to help out on him?
Why would they want to? It's not like they care about playing defense today.
Chauncey is such an asshole. Has one of those pull-up 3s ever gone in? Put him on a leash.
Marklar MM
12-31-2005, 03:08 PM
Chauncey is such an asshole. Has one of those pull-up 3s ever gone in? Put him on a leash.
Has any shot they have taken today gone in?
Not when they don't get a shot attempt because Chauncey turns the ball over constantly. The Pistons should hire Bobby Knight to throw a chair at him when he does this.
And throw a chair at Luis fucking Grillo.
Warlord23
12-31-2005, 03:27 PM
Looks like this is where the Pistons' streak ends
FreshPrince22
12-31-2005, 03:28 PM
Not when they don't get a shot attempt because Chauncey turns the ball over constantly. The Pistons should hire Bobby Knight to throw a chair at him when he does this.
Dude, it's one bad game for Chauncey. He is the best in the league at taking care of the ball. Today is not our day. Look toward our next game. Get a new win streak going.
:lol I think the phrase is "what have you done for me lately?"
Eh. It's the Dallas game all over again, except Cleveland isn't nearly as good as Dallas.
I'm going to rev up my trade Darko for Danny Fortson campaign. The Pistons have no physicality anymore. They need someone to smack down the James, Wades, Ginobilis of the world when they drive the lane.
Warlord23
12-31-2005, 03:43 PM
Pistons are putting up a lot 3s tonight and missing. Why not go to Rasheed in the post vs Gooden/Marshall?
:elephant We have a winner.
Flip and Chauncey aren't calling postups. And even when Sheed and Tayshaun do post up, they'd much rather pass than take the shot.
infinite styles
12-31-2005, 03:52 PM
Damn!!! 4-18 from three. WTH are they doing? Its funny cause when I watched the pistons/heat game I noticed that they were enjoying the three ball a little too much.
boutons_
12-31-2005, 04:01 PM
3Gs are seductive. Spurs have had several of games where they heave up plenty 3Gs with a low %age, and they don't start falling, rather than taking it to the hoop.
Bad game by the Pistons, and the Cavs really wanted it more.
FreshPrince22
12-31-2005, 04:09 PM
The only reason we were shooting a lot of three balls is because we were down 16-19 points the entire game. That's what happens. If the game was close it would have been completely different. We needed someone to really heat up to get a shot at it. Besides, they were open looks. It just wasn't falling for us tonight. Tough to win agaisnt a great home team when you're bricking all of your shots.
mavsfan1000
12-31-2005, 04:14 PM
The pistons are highly overrated. They proved it in this game just like Dallas is highly overrated right? :rolleyes
ALVAREZ6
12-31-2005, 04:27 PM
Fucking finally, they lose.
Horry For 3!
12-31-2005, 05:04 PM
LeBron turned 21 and whipped up on the Pistons.
30 pts 7 rebs 7 asts 4 stls 1 blk
Horry For 3!
12-31-2005, 05:04 PM
Prince got OWNED by LeBron.
2-12 shooting
Pistons < Spurs
12-31-2005, 05:26 PM
The Pistons suck. Time for me to find a new team to root for........
infinite styles
12-31-2005, 06:04 PM
The only reason we were shooting a lot of three balls is because we were down 16-19 points the entire game. That's what happens. If the game was close it would have been completely different. We needed someone to really heat up to get a shot at it. Besides, they were open looks. It just wasn't falling for us tonight. Tough to win agaisnt a great home team when you're bricking all of your shots.
I hope that your not a coach cause that is exactly the opposite of what you should do when you get down big in a game. Its not like football when you get down by 2 or 3 TD's and abandon the running game. If you get down in basketball you start taking it to the rack draw some fouls get to the free throw line and get the momentum in your favor. And with all the great free throw shooters that Det. has thats exactly what they should have done. But thats just my philosophy.
ducks
12-31-2005, 06:15 PM
Cleveland 97, Detroit 84
Preview - Box Score - Recap
By TOM WITHERS, AP Sports Writer
December 31, 2005
Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James (23) works against Detroit Pistons' Richard Hamilton during fourth quarter NBA action Saturday, Dec. 31, 2005, in Cleveland. James scored 30 points in leading Cleveland over Detroit 97-84.
AP - Dec 31, 4:22 pm EST
More Photos
CLEVELAND (AP) -- The Cavaliers weren't intimidated by the Pistons' impressive record, rich history or Ben Wallace's biceps.
With a Pistons-like defensive performance, Cleveland made Detroit look ordinary in a 97-84 victory Saturday.
"That's a good team that came into our building," Cavs guard Larry Hughes said. "We think we're supposed to win."
One day after LeBron James turned 21, and against the NBA's top squad, the Cavs may have come of age, too.
James scored 30 points with seven rebounds, seven assists and four steals against the Pistons, who had their winning streak stopped at nine and lost for just the fourth time.
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Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 18 points, Hughes 16 and Drew Gooden 12 with 13 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who posted their most impressive victory on the final day of '05 and improved to 13-3 at Quicken Loans Arena.
Cleveland has won the last three meetings and four of five at home against the Pistons, the team they're trying to catch in the Central Division and the franchise they aspire to be like someday.
"I told LeBron, 'It's just like when Chicago won the championship. If you want to go deep in the playoffs, then this is the team we have to go through. This is the team we have to beat,"' Donyell Marshall said. "That's a very big step for us."
The Pistons came in on pace to win a record 73 regular-season games, but shot a season-low 36 percent (29-of-81) from the floor and dropped to 24-4 -- still one of the best starts in league history.
Tayshaun Prince, averaging 15.1 points, had just four on 2-of-12 shooting and Chauncey Billups was only 2-for-11 from the field and had 14.
"We played horribly offensively," Prince said. "We got the shots we wanted but couldn't make anything. We were missing layups -- everything."
Rasheed Wallace and Richard Hamilton had 21 points apiece to lead the Pistons and Ben Wallace added 11 with 18 rebounds.
Detroit Pistons coach Flip Saunders watches as Richard Hamilton brinks the ball up agianst the Cleveland Cavaliers during fourth quarter NBA action Saturday, Dec. 31, 2005, in Cleveland. The Cavaliers beat the Pitsons 97-84.
AP - Dec 31, 4:22 pm EST
More Photos
The Cavaliers, who led by 19 in the first half, pushed it to 20 late in the third quarter and then held off a late push by the Pistons, who got within 92-82 on Carlos Delfino's free throw with 3:41 remaining.
But James, who posted up in the lane more than usual, drilled a 3-pointer with 3:17 left, and after Ilgauskas' basket made it 97-82, Cleveland fans began their New Year's Eve partying a little early.
"That's the best team in the league," Gooden said. "They have a (championship) ring. We see them as the measuring stick."
James, who has scored at least 30 in 11 of his last 14 games, finished December averaging 32.4 points -- the highest one-month average in club history. The Cavaliers have 18 wins after two months for the first time since 1996-97.
"We knew we had to bring our 'A' game," said James, "and that's what we did."
The Pistons started cold from the floor and remained that way in the first half, shooting just 31 percent in falling behind by 19.
"Nothing would go in," said Prince, who made his first shot and then missed 10 of 11. "Usually after we miss some shots, we heat up a little, but we couldn't get anything going."
Marshall made consecutive 3s and James completed a three-point play as the Cavaliers opened the second quarter with 11 straight points, forcing the Pistons to play from behind the rest of the way.
"They controlled the tempo," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. "We played out of character."
Notes
Cleveland has won seven of eight and went 8-6 in December after a 1-5 start to the month. ... James also averaged 6.4 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.9 steals in December. ... Saunders is just the second coach in league history to start 24-3 in his first season as coach. Bill Sharman opened the 1971-72 season 39-3 with the Los Angeles Lakers. ... The Cavs hadn't played on New Year's Eve since 1970, their inaugural season in the NBA, when they lost 119-85 at Atlanta and fell to 5-39. ... Cavs coach Mike Brown, who has just two technicals in his first season, tries the tender approach before yelling at officials. "I usually start with Merry Christmas or Happy New Year, and then say, 'Can you take a look at that last call,"' Brown said. ... Like the Pistons, the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, whose 72-10 season is the NBA's best ever, started 23-3 before winning 18 in a row. ... Browns rookie WR Braylon Edwards sat courtside. He's scheduled to undergo knee surgery on Tuesday -- doctors had to wait until swelling went down -- and will need at least nine months to recover.
Dre_7
12-31-2005, 06:20 PM
But, but, but, how are we ever going to catch detroit for home court with the pathetic, awful, disgusting way we are playing. Detroit wont lose with the schedule they have from now til the end of January and we are horrible.
[/boutons]
FreshPrince22
12-31-2005, 06:57 PM
Prince got OWNED by LeBron.
2-12 shooting
Prince owned himself. Every shot he took was uncontested.
FreshPrince22
12-31-2005, 07:22 PM
I hope that your not a coach cause that is exactly the opposite of what you should do when you get down big in a game. Its not like football when you get down by 2 or 3 TD's and abandon the running game. If you get down in basketball you start taking it to the rack draw some fouls get to the free throw line and get the momentum in your favor. And with all the great free throw shooters that Det. has thats exactly what they should have done. But thats just my philosophy.
I know it's not what you're supposed to do, but it is the natural reaction. And FWIW, they did get to the line a lot in the 3rd (I believe something like 16-18 attempts in that quarter alone). And it's not like we were forcing the three ball. All of them were open. We were just ice cold. It happens to every team once in a while.
ducks
12-31-2005, 07:32 PM
james still plays no d
ABDENOUR POWER
12-31-2005, 08:41 PM
We should just throw in the towel right now. If we can't beat Cleveland then we certainly have no hope of winning the championship. Its time to face the facts - this season is a wash. I say we trade Prince (after his performance this afternoon its clear he's worthless) and tank the rest of the season in order to get a high draft pick. Once the season's over we can do a sign-and-trade with the Spurs - Big Ben straight up for Rasho. We need to rebuild the team around Darko.
Its our only hope.
FreshPrince22
12-31-2005, 11:49 PM
We should just throw in the towel right now. If we can't beat Cleveland then we certainly have no hope of winning the championship. Its time to face the facts - this season is a wash. I say we trade Prince (after his performance this afternoon its clear he's worthless) and tank the rest of the season in order to get a high draft pick. Once the season's over we can do a sign-and-trade with the Spurs - Big Ben straight up for Rasho. We need to rebuild the team around Darko.
Its our only hope.
Agreed. Lets trade Chauncey for Beno and Tayshaun for Sean Marks. Tank the next 5 seasons (0-82 style), then use the five #1 picks to rebuild the starting lineup.
jochhejaam
01-01-2006, 08:25 AM
The pistons are highly overrated. They proved it in this game just like Dallas is highly overrated right? :rolleyes
No and no. We've beaten teams that have played better than the Cavs did today, it's just one of those games where almost everyone has a bad shooting day.
Can't win 'em all.
They beat us because we didn't play well, Dallas just outright beat us.
(We do expect a win next game against Dallas :) ).
DarkReign
01-03-2006, 06:45 AM
Bah, cant win em all.
What a hoooooooorrible game though!
Blech...2 stinkers already....Dallas (good team) and Cleveland (good team).
At least the 2 BLOWOUTS were against good teams.
Meh...w/e....another day to play, Im sure.
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