Cavaliers 114, Pistons 106
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Kevin Love erupted for 29 points, LeBron James reached the 26,000 career point mark and the Cleveland Cavaliers downed the Detroit Pistons 114-106 on Friday night at The Palace.
Love, who was passed over by the Eastern Conference coaches as an All-Star reserve, enjoyed his second-highest scoring game this season. Cleveland's power forward scored 34 against Orlando on Nov. 23.
James became the youngest player ever to reach 26,000-point mark when he made two free throws during the third quarter. The All-Star small forward became the 17th player in league history to hit that milestone. He finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and a team-high eight assists.
Point guard Kyrie Irving supplied 28 points for the Cavaliers (33-12), who are 3-1 since Tyronn Lue replaced David Blatt as head coach. Center Tristan Thompson added a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds.
Center Andre Drummond's 20 points and eight rebounds led the Pistons (25-22). Drummond, the first Piston selected to the All-Star game since Allen Iverson in 2009, had 25 points and 18 rebounds in Detroit's 104-99 victory over Cleveland at The Palace on Nov. 17.
Shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 19 points and seven rebounds and rookie small forward Stanley Johnson added 15 points and five assists for Detroit.
The teams traded 7-0 runs at the start of the second half, then things soon got a little testy. James and Pistons small forward Marcus Morris exchanged words at half-court and needed to be separated after a double call was called on them.
Cleveland then took command with a 12-2 spurt, capped by a 3-pointer from shooting guard J.R. Smith, to make it 90-71. The Pistons closed to within nine on Morris' three-point play with 4:45 left but Love responded with a fade-away shot and Cavs closed it out.
James had a quiet first half, as he attempted only six shots and scored 10 points. The Cavs' other stars filled the scoring void, with Love and Irving combining for 35 points to lead them to a 66-58 halftime lead.
NOTES: Entering Friday, Cleveland PG Kyrie Irving was averaging just 3.8 assists since returning from a knee injury last month, but coach Tyronn Lue is more concerned with his scoring. "I want him to attack first and then if it opens to an assist, then make the play," Lue said. "I don't think anybody can stop him one on one." ... Pistons PG Brandon Jennings scored just seven points during the last three games before Friday as he adjusts to a bench role. "I'm happy with Brandon. He's fine," Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy said. "Things will level out as it goes on." ... Detroit PF Ersan Ilyasova was playing in his 500th career game. ... Cleveland is 22-2 when scoring at least 100 points heading into Friday's contest. ... The Cavs won their previous five road games against Eastern Conference opponents by an average of 15.2 points.