Cavaliers dominate undersized Pistons

By Jason Lloyd

Akron Beacon Journal

DETROIT

Before Wednesday’s game, Cleveland Cavaliers coach Byron Scott said he thought Samardo Samuels showed up at training camp this season out of shape. Told of his coach’s comments, Samuels disagreed.

Then he went out and showed why.

Samuels had 17 points off the bench and the Cavs hammered a smaller Detroit Pistons lineup for a 105-89 victory at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Mich. It was the Cavs’ first road win in their first try this season after they won just seven games away from home all of last season.

After struggling to find any sort of rhythm in his pro debut, Kyrie Irving had 14 points and seven assists, despite sitting the final 17 minutes. He never got off the bench in the fourth quarter as the Cavs put six players in double figures.

The Cavs scored 52 points in the paint, outrebounded the Pistons 40-26 and received 52 points from post players Samuels, Antawn Jamison, Anderson Varejao and Tristan Thompson.

The Pistons went all-out for their home opener. They had a 14-member choir sing Detroit native Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” before pregame introductions, followed it up with a halftime concert by Taio Cruz (complete with dancers, flame shooters and high-flying dunkers) and finished it off with an appearance by Detroit native Kid Rock before the fourth quarter.

Too bad none of them could dribble. The Pistons could have used some of those high-flying dunkers when it mattered. They shot just 37 percent in the first half and had no answer for the Cavs’ post players.

With Pistons forward Charlie Villanueva serving a four-game suspension for his altercation with the Cavs’ Ryan Hollins at the end of last season, the Pistons’ only player with any real height is 6-foot-11 center Greg Monroe.

The Cavs were thrilled to take advantage, and the Pistons have now been dominated on the boards in each of their first two games. The Cavs even got 11 rebounds out of their point guards, Irving and Ramon Sessions.

Sessions, who had 18 points against the Toronto Raptors on Monday, had 16 points and six assists off the bench. He made two more 3-pointers to give him four for the season, or one more than he had all of last year.

The Cavs held a 50-39 lead at the half despite turning the ball over 15 times. They made up for it by shooting 57 percent.

Scott wanted his players to come out more assertively than they were Monday against the Raptors, and they did.

The Cavs held the Pistons without a field goal for the final 2:24 of the second quarter.