NBA

Cavaliers slow Pistons' start

By wire services
Published January 1, 2006

CLEVELAND - The Cavaliers weren't intimidated by the Pistons' impressive record, rich history or Ben Wallace's biceps.

With a Pistons-like defensive performance, Cleveland made Detroit look ordinary in a 97-84 victory Saturday.

"That's a good team that came into our building," Cavs guard Larry Hughes said. "We think we're supposed to win."

One day after LeBron James turned 21, and against the NBA's top squad, the Cavs may have come of age, too.

James scored 30 with seven rebounds, seven assists and four steals as the Cavs snapped Detroit's nine-game winning streak.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 18 points, Hughes 16 and Drew Gooden 12 with 13 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who posted their most impressive victory on the final day of '05 and improved to 13-3 at Quicken Loans Arena.

Cleveland has won the last three meetings and four of five at home against the Pistons, the team they're trying to catch in the Central Division and the franchise they aspire to be like.

"I told LeBron, "It's just like when Chicago won the championship. If you want to go deep in the playoffs, then this is the team we have to go through. This is the team we have to beat,' " Donyell Marshall said. "That's a very big step for us."

The Pistons came in on pace to win a record 73 regular-season games, but shot a season-low 36 percent (29-of-81) from the floor and dropped to 24-4 - still one of the best starts in league history.

Tayshaun Prince, averaging 15.1 points, had four on 2-of-12 shooting and Chauncey Billups was 2-of-11 from the field and had 14. "We played horribly offensively," Prince said. "We got the shots we wanted but couldn't make anything. We were missing layups - everything."

The Cavaliers, who led by 19 in the first half, pushed it to 20 late in the third quarter and then held off a late push by the Pistons, who got within 92-82 on Carlos Delfino's free throw with 3:41 remaining.

But James, who posted up in the lane more than usual, drilled a 3-pointer with 3:17 left, and after Ilgauskas' basket made it 97-82, Cleveland fans began their New Year's Eve partying a little early.

MAVERICKS 95, HORNETS 90: Dirk Nowitzki scored 24, and Jason Terry and Josh Howard added 20 apiece as the visiting Mavericks beat New Orleans for the 16th straight time. Nowitzki made all nine of his free throws, giving him 49 in a row. That ties the team record set by Steve Nash in 2002. The Hornets, who ranked last in the league in attendance last season, played in front of their third straight sellout and seventh in 12 dates in Oklahoma City.

SUNS 107, BULLS 98 (OT): Shawn Marion scored eight of his 28 points in overtime and Eddie House hit a key 3-pointer as visiting Phoenix dealt Chicago its sixth straight loss. Marion hit 13 of 22 shots and grabbed 16 rebounds as the Suns won their fourth straight. Kirk Hinrich scored 12 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter for the Bulls. A penetrating Steve Nash found Marion for a layup that tied it at 92 with six seconds left. Chicago's Ben Gordon missed a driving layup at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime.

WARRIORS 94, ROCKETS 89: Baron Davis scored 23 and Jason Richardson added 22 as visiting Golden State won its third in a row. Davis also had seven assists and five rebounds and Richardson added six rebounds and five assists. Together, the backcourt duo went 6-for-15 from 3-point range.

JAZZ 108, 76ERS 102: Andrei Kirilenko converted a three-point play with 18.9 seconds remaining as host Utah rallied. The Jazz blew a 15-point lead and needed to rally from a six-point deficit in the fourth quarter, scoring the final seven points of the game and spoiling Allen Iverson's 37-point night for Philadelphia. Utah coach Jerry Sloan received two technical fouls within 30 seconds in the third quarter and was ejected for the first time this season.

SPURS 98, NUGGETS 88: Tim Duncan scored 25 and Manu Ginobili added 20 off the bench as visiting San Antonio beat injury-riddled Denver, which lost for the seventh time in nine games.

GRIZZLIES 100, SONICS 96: Dahntay Jones made a one-handed 14-footer with 6.6 seconds left for visiting Memphis. Pau Gasol led six Grizzlies in double figures with 22 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Memphis was without guard Damon Stoudamire, who ruptured a tendon in his knee in a win at Portland Friday. He will have surgery pending an examination by team doctors and likely will miss the rest of the season.

CELTICS 111, CLIPPERS 92: Ricky Davis scored 20, Paul Pierce added 19 and Boston snapped a six-game road losing streak.

[Last modified January 1, 2006, 00:29:14]