Losing wears on Cavs PG Irving

Associated Press

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Kyrie Irving’s first season in the NBA has been unlike any in his life. He’s mostly gotten used to the travel and the crammed schedule and physical play. One thing, though, has been hard to handle.

Losing has hurt Cleveland’s rookie.

“It’s definitely a learning experience for me,” he said.

Tayshaun Prince matched a season high with 29 points and rookie Brandon Knight added 16, leading the Detroit Pistons to an 87-75 win over Cleveland on Wednesday night, handing Irving and the Cavaliers their fifth straight loss and pushing them further from the playoff picture.

Prince made all four 3-pointers and added eight rebounds for the Pistons, who closed with an 11-4 outburst after the Cavs closed within five.

Irving scored 20 with nine rebounds and six assists for Cleveland, which has dropped eight of nine and fallen from contention for the final postseason spot in the Eastern Conference. The Cavs have gone 4-14 since beating Detroit on Feb. 21 to improve to 13-17.

“I’m still staying optimistic,” said Irving, the league’s presumptive rookie of the year who couldn’t remember being on a losing team before. “We still want to surprise people.”

Early in the fourth, Cleveland’s Omri Casspi somehow flipped in a shot while falling backward in the lane to make it 72-67, giving the Cavs some life. But Prince responded, knocking down a 12-foot jumper and then ended a scoreless drought of nearly three minutes for the Pistons with a floater to make it 76-67.

Irving, who has been so strong in the fourth all season, scored four quick points, but Knight’s 3 from the left wing was the dagger Detroit needed.