Cavaliers 106, Pistons 101
CLEVELAND: LeBron James had 22 points, 11 rebounds and six assists and the Cleveland Cavaliers' Big Three combined for 81 points in a hard-fought 106-101 victory Sunday against the Detroit Pistons in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.
The Cavs survived a 3-point onslaught from the Pistons, who made 15 3-pointers and shot 52 percent from deep.
Kevin Love had 28 points and 13 rebounds and Kyrie Irving had 31 points and six assists for the Cavaliers, who trailed by seven with 11 minutes left before rallying behind James.
Game 2 is Wednesday night at Cleveland.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 21 points for the Pistons and Marcus Morris scored 20 -- but just one in the second half.
The Pistons led at halftime and entering the fourth quarter. A 3-pointer from Reggie Bullock with 11:03 left in the fourth quarter matched the Pistons' largest lead of the game at 83-76, forcing the Cavaliers to call a timeout to get James back in the game. It took him 1:40 to have the game tied at 83, and the Cavs rolled behind their star. But it wasn't easy.
The Pistons made an average of nine 3-pointers a game in the regular season, and the Cavs limited opponents to less than eight per game. Yet Detroit made 10 in the first half Sunday and sent the Cavaliers defenders scrambling unsuccessfully to the perimeter.
It was reminiscent of 2009 when Stan Van Gundy spread the floor with shooters around Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic shot their way past the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals. Except this time it was Andre Drummond in the middle, and the Pistons aren't exactly a prolific 3-point shooting team.
Drummond finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds after he was held to two points and four rebounds in the first half. Reggie Jackson had 17 points and seven assists and was assessed a costly technical late in the game when he charged toward official Derrick Stafford to complain after a no-foul call.
James, Love and Irving were sensational, but they received little help elsewhere. J.R. Smith scored nine points while shooting 2 of 7 from 3-point range and Matthew Dellavedova scored seven points off the bench.
NOTES: This is the third time the Cavaliers have entered the playoffs as the top seed in the East. They lost in the conference finals in 2009 and the conference semifinals in 2010. They entered 84-84 all-time in postseason games. ... Sunday marked LeBron James' 179th career postseason game, tying him with Michael Jordan for 17th place in NBA history. ... The Pistons' 12-game improvement this season tied for the fourth-largest turnaround in the NBA. The New York Knicks (plus-15) had the biggest turnaround. ... Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy has never been swept in a playoff series in his career.