James' latest triple-double pushes Cavs past Pistons
CLEVELAND -- LeBron James remained on his triple-double craze and helped lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to an easy 128-96 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night.
James finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists in 28 minutes, taking off the entire fourth quarter of the blowout.
James, 32, has four triple-doubles this month, including three in his past four games. He has compiled a career-high 10 of them this season and now has 52 triple-doubles to his name over 14 seasons -- not counting the playoffs.
Kyrie Irving was Cleveland's leading scorer with 26 points. Like James, he sat out the fourth quarter. The Cavaliers (44-22) led by 33 when the third quarter was over.
Iman Shumpert contributed a season-high 18 points, and Richard Jefferson added 16 points. Cleveland had seven players score in double figures.
Even Larry Sanders, who was signed by the Cavs on Monday and wasn't supposed to play until he got in shape in the NBA Development League, got in the game and logged two minutes.
The Pistons (33-34) were led by 17 points from Tobias Harris. Reggie Jackson, who scored at least 19 points in four of his previous five games, shot 3 of 13 and finished with six points.
Cleveland avenged a 106-101 loss to the Pistons on March 9. The Cavs made 19 3-pointers, well short of the NBA-record 25 treys they sank March 3 but good enough for the most 3-pointers Detroit has allowed this season.
The Cavs scored 44 points in the opening quarter while going 7 of 7 from 3-point range. They made their first 10 3-point attempts overall and were 11 of 14 from 3-point range at the end of the first half. Cleveland opened the game shooting 23 of 26 from the field, making its first six shots of the second quarter.
Irving scored 15 points in the first quarter, and Cleveland's 44 points were the second most in a period this season. The Cavs led by 26 at the end of the first half.
Cleveland wound up 19 of 30 from 3-point range, while Detroit was 4 of 19.
NOTES: Cavaliers GM David Griffin said F Kevin Love (knee surgery) may play at some point on Cleveland's four-game road trip that starts Saturday against the Los Angeles Clippers. Love's original timetable for return was six weeks; Tuesday was four weeks, so he is ahead of schedule. ... New Cavaliers F/C Larry Sanders, signed Monday, will move to the NBA Development League. Sanders hasn't played pro basketball in two years because of personal issues that forced him away from the sport. ... The 44 points the Pistons allowed in the first quarter were tied for the most they gave up in any quarter this season.