Cavaliers finish off Pistons, 90-80

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — LeBron James was a cheerleader when the Cleveland Cavaliers took over against the Detroit Pistons.

Then he finished them off.

James scored 33 points and got some timely help from Mo Williams and Daniel Gibson in Cleveland’s 90-80 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday.

“It’s been different this season because we have guys who can control the offense and control the defense,” James said. “There’s not been a time this season when I felt pressure to not come off the floor.

“I know these guys can take care of things.”

With James resting, Williams and Gibson outscored Detroit by themselves in a 15-2 run to take a 73-68 lead early in the fourth quarter.

James shouted, “C’mon Mo! C’mon Mo!” from the scorer’s table during the final possession of the winning surge, then celebrated with Williams after his jumper led to Detroit calling a timeout.

James sealed the victory on a driving layup, an assist, 3-pointer and free throw to put the Cavs ahead by nine with 2 1/2 minutes left.

The Central Division-leading Cavs have won six of their last seven and are 12 games ahead of Detroit. They had lost four straight at The Palace in the regular season.

“This is a good win in a building where we’ve always had a lot of trouble,” Cavs coach Mike Brown said. “It seems like they’ve had our number here, so this feels good.”

The Pistons haven’t felt good in a while, losing four straight home games for the first time in eight years.

Allen Iverson scored 22 points for Detroit, which has lost nine of 12 and are 21-21 with him.

“I’m surprised, but I’ve seen the flashes of how good we can be,” Iverson said. “And, I see the reasons that we lose games.”

Williams, who has become James’ best sidekick on the perimeter, scored 22 points and Gibson scored all seven of his points in the fourth.

“It makes it easier for [James] because you can’t leave Mo,” Iverson said. “But it’s not just Mo.”

Cleveland’s Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting, playing his second game after being sidelined for 13 games with an ankle injury.

The Cavs have been unbeatable at home through 22 games and solid on the road, winning 15 of 24.

“Any road win is special, but the rivalry we have with these guys adds some fire,” James said.

Rasheed Wallace scored just nine points and Rodney Stuckey only six.

Richard Hamilton scored 16 points, Tayshaun Prince had 11 and Amir Johnson scored 10 points for the first time in a month.

Cleveland led 18-16 after a sluggish first quarter, then trailed by three at halftime.

Iverson scored 10 points in the third quarter, helping the Pistons outscore Cleveland by seven to take control.