Pistons' rally negates James' triple-double for Cavs
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Reggie Jackson scored 21 points and the Detroit Pistons overcame LeBron James' 50th career triple-double and downed the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-101 on Thursday night at The Palace.
Andre Drummond powered for 20 points and 16 rebounds and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Tobias Harris had 15 points apiece for the Pistons (32-33), who have won three of their last four games.
Marcus Morris and Ish Smith each added 12 points for Detroit, which outscored Cleveland 33-21 in the fourth quarter.
James collected 29 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. Kyrie Irving supplied 27 points and Channing Frye had 15, all on 3-pointers, but Cleveland (42-21) dropped its third straight.
Cleveland shooting guard J.R. Smith came off the bench after missing the previous 36 games with a fractured right thumb. He was 1 of 9 from the field while scoring three points in 19 minutes.
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue was back on the sideline after missing their game against Miami on Monday because of an illness.
Frye went scoreless in the first half but caught fire after the Pistons took their biggest lead at 68-58. Frye drained four 3-pointers as Cleveland finished the quarter on a 22-5 run.
He sparked the spurt with three long-range shots, part of an 11-0 Cavs outburst. He then made the last of those 3-pointers in the final minute of the quarter for an 80-73 Cleveland advantage.
With James and Irving resting, the Pistons roared back with a 13-0 outburst behind Drummond and Jackson to gain an 86-80 lead. The Cavs finally broke their scoring drought on a Deron Williams 3-pointer moments after James returned.
Detroit continued to hold the lead and Caldwell-Pope's corner 3-pointer with 2:17 left made it 101-93. A James layup knocked Cleveland's deficit down to three at 101-98.
Jackson then made a floater in the lane. Frye hit another 3 with 5.5 seconds remaining to make it 104-101. But Jackson sealed Detroit's win with two free throws.
The Pistons trailed by 15 in the early going but pulled ahead 55-52 by halftime. Detroit shot 52.4 percent from the field to offset big starts by James and Irving.
Both Cavaliers superstars scored 19 points in the first half. James' eight field goals included five dunks and three layups, but after his fifth slam, the Pistons finished the half on a 10-1 run.
NOTES: On the same night SG J.R. Smith returned to action, SG Kyle Korver missed his first game since being traded to the Cavaliers in early January because of left foot soreness. "Get one back and you lose one, but thankfully, Korver's (injury) is not as serious," Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue said. "He should be back in due time." ... The Cavaliers are the third-highest scoring team in the league behind Golden State and Houston. They have the best records in the league along with San Antonio. "Overall, people have shifted more in an offensive direction," Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy said. "I'm not sure the defenses, or at least the vast majority of defenses, have caught up at this point." ... Detroit has now won 12 of its last 15 home games. ... Cleveland was 38-2 when tied or leading after three quarters before Thursday's loss. ... The Pistons lead the season series 2-1. They meet once more in the regular season on Tuesday at Cleveland.