Jaylon Tyson scored seven of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and James Harden finished with 18 points and seven assists as the host Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons, 113-109, yesterday (Philippine time).
Evan Mobley had 18 points and Dennis Schroder scored 15 for the Cavaliers, who won their season-high seventh straight home game.
Craig Porter, Jr. added seven points and eight rebounds off the bench, as Cleveland improved to 22-8.
Jalen Duren collected game highs of 24 points and 14 rebounds, and fellow Pistons All-Star Cade Cunningham posted 10 points and 14 assists.
Schroder made a layup to give Cleveland the largest lead of the game at 94-83 with 10:16 left, but the Pistons rallied within 104-103 on a Duran-from-Cunningham connection with 2:56 remaining.
After Ausar Thompson missed a potential tying three-pointer for Detroit with 1:31 left, Schroder and Harden followed with back-to-back baskets to give the Cavaliers breathing room at 112-105.
Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen scored eight points in 20 minutes before exiting with a right knee injury. All-Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell (right groin strain) missed his fourth straight game.
Tobias Harris scored all 19 of his points in the second half for Detroit. Isaiah Stewart had four points in his return from a seven-game NBA suspension.
Harden was 5-of-17 from the field and Cunningham was 4-of-16 on field-goal attempts. Both committed five turnovers.
The Cavaliers lost Allen early in the third, but maintained their advantage at 89-80 through three quarters. Harris drained 5-of-6 field-goal attempts, making one three.
Cleveland built the first double-digit lead at 48-38 on Sam Merrill’s three-pointer midway through the second, carrying a 54-48 edge into the break.
Cunningham had six points, three rebounds and three assists in the first, helping Detroit go in front 27-25. Harden scored seven for the Cavaliers, who jumped ahead 9-2 to prompt Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff to call timeout just 150 seconds in. (Field Level Media / Reuters)