Darius Garland and Max Strus had 22 points apiece as the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Pistons 110-101 on Saturday night, handing Detroit its franchise-record 17th consecutive loss.
Donovan Mitchell supplied 20 points and four assists for the Cavaliers, who bounced back from a home loss to Portland. Cleveland has won its past seven meetings with Central Division rival Detroit.
Jarrett Allen contributed 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers, and Georges Niang led the reserves with 12 points.
Bojan Bogdanovic, making his season debut, finished with 22 points off the bench for the Pistons. Bogdanovic, who led the team in scoring last season, had been sidelined due to a severe calf strain.
Cade Cunningham finished with a team-high 23 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds for Detroit, which began its December schedule with a loss after going winless in November.
Jalen Duren had 17 points and 12 rebounds, Killian Hayes added 13 points and six rebounds and Isaiah Stewart chipped in 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Allen scored 14 points in the first half as the Cavs led 54-48 at the break. Garland had 10 points, while Duren led the Pistons with 12.
Detroit held a 77-70 advantage with just over two minutes remaining in the third quarter. Niang then kicked off an 11-0 Cleveland run with a 3-pointer. Strus knocked down a pair of 3-pointers during that span.
The Cavs entered the fourth with an 85-82 lead. They also scored the first seven points of the quarter to extend their advantage to double digits. Isaac Okoro scored five points during that stretch.
Detroit then gradually chipped away and got its deficit down to three, 100-97, with 4:20 remaining on a Bogdanovic 3-pointer.
Cleveland’s defense then clamped down as the Cavaliers pulled away again. Garland banked in a shot and Mitchell made a midrange jumper. Allen had a putback with 1:14 remaining to make it 106-97.
Mitchell ended all suspense with a 3-pointer in the final minute.
–Field Level Media
