20,562 see Cavs lose finale

The Cavs set two franchise records — sellouts and average attendance.

GATEHOUSE news service

CLEVELAND — Odd things happen at the end of a long NBA regular season.

Backup Cavs big man Dwayne Jones nearly leads a fastbreak. Another Cavs backup big man, Lance Allred, banks in a free throw for his first NBA point. Walter Herrmann gets an extended run for the Pistons and turns into a difference-maker.

And those were some of the second-half highlights of the season finale Wednesday at Quicken Loans Arena, where the Pistons beat the Cavs, 84-74.

The Cavs sat out All-Star LeBron James and center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, while the Pistons played their starters just in the first quarter.

“Early with both teams, I think Dr. [James] Naismith was rolling over,” Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. “He didn’t mean the game to be played the way we were playing it in the first quarter.”

With nothing at stake for either team, a sold-out crowd of 20,562 watched a collection of second- and third-unit players earn the bulk of the night’s minutes. The most notable achievement was the Cavs setting two franchise season attendance records — most sellouts (33) and average attendance (20,465).

“This is a game that I think both teams accomplished what they needed to accomplish; they came out pretty healthy,” Saunders said.

James and Ilgauskas sat to ensure their health. Other recent Cavs regulars played 22 minutes or less. And none of the five Cavs on the floor for the final seven minutes even played in the team’s big win Monday at Philadelphia. That last-second win locked up homecourt advantage for the Cavs, making this game irrelevant in the standings.

“Obviously, as the game went along, we had some combinations that weren’t used to playing with each other, let alone playing at all,” Cavs coach Mike Brown said. “I thought our guys did a good job hanging in there.”

Wally Szczerbiak led the Cavs with 18 points on 8-for-18 shooting. He also grabbed five rebounds.

“He did a nice job throughout most of the game,” Brown said. Point guard Delonte West added 11 points and seven assists in 2 1/2 quarters.

Guard Damon Jones, though, struggled with his shot in his return to the floor after not playing the previous seven games. He shot 1-for-12, missing all four of his 3-pointers.

“I wish I could’ve been better, but I appreciate the opportunity to get out there and do some things,” Jones said. “Hopefully ... I have a rhythm for the game and I’ll be able to do some positive things out there [in the playoffs].”

The Cavs led 66-63 before using a unit that’s never played or practiced together before — Allred, Szczerbiak, Jones, Dwayne Jones and Billy Thomas. The latter was signed earlier in the day from the D-League. Allred, appearing just the third time since signing March 13, played 9 1/2 minutes. He had previously played one minute total. He split a pair of free throws early in the fourth quarter for his first NBA point.