CLEVELAND — Collin Sexton scored 29 points and Andre Drummond had 23 points, 16 rebounds and five steals against his former team, powering the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 122-107 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.
Taurean Prince added 16 points and rookie Isaac Okoro had 10 points and a season-high six assists to help the Cavaliers snap a two-game losing streak and improve to 9-9.
Jerami Grant scored 26 points and Mason Plumlee had 15 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high eight turnovers for Detroit. The Pistons have the worst road record in the Eastern Conference at 1-7. Grant made 10 of 10 free throws.
Drummond made a bank shot midway through the fourth quarter to give Cleveland its largest lead of the night at 108-89. The Cavaliers went ahead for good at 72-69 on Darius Garland’s 3-pointer in the third.
Garland had 14, and Cedi Osman and Jarrett Allen added 10 apiece for Cleveland. The Cavaliers shot 54% from the field, going 52.4% on 3-pointers.
Detroit guard Derrick Rose returned after missing two games with a sore left knee, scoring 13 points in 19 minutes off the bench. Wayne Ellington had 17 points.
Cavaliers power forward Larry Nance Jr. was unavailable for the second straight game after spraining his right wrist at Boston on Sunday.
SIMILAR STRATEGY
Pistons coach Dwane Casey is encouraged by Cleveland’s development, specifically mentioning Sexton and Garland. The Cavaliers are seventh in the East after finishing with the second-worst record in the NBA last season. “A couple of years ago, Cleveland was where we are now,” Casey said. “They’re an exciting up-and-coming team, like we want to be.”
TIP-INS
Pistons: F Blake Griffin (left knee) and G Killian Hayes (right hip) were inactive. Griffin is not playing in back-to-back games for precautionary reasons. … Rookie G Saben Lee was assigned to the G-League in a procedural move. “Saben would have been inactive with Derrick (Rose) back, so this will save days on his two-way contract,” Casey said.
Cavaliers: Garland made his first start since returning from a sprained right shoulder on Jan. 22. The second-year pro missed eight games, but coach J.B. Bickerstaff said he is no longer on a minutes restriction. … F Kevin Love (right calf strain), G Matthew Dellavedova (concussion) and rookie F Lamar Stevens (abdominal strain) were inactive.
UP NEXT
Pistons: Host the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.
Cavaliers: At New York on Friday night.
