CLEVELAND – Guard Kyrie Irving did a majority of Cleveland’s scoring in the first quarter with 13 points. Forward LeBron James and guard J.R. Smith handled the scoring load in the second quarter with 14 and nine points. Irving, James, and Smith combined for 21 points in the third quarter, and Cleveland’s bench contributed with scoring and defense in the fourth quarter.
Add it up, and the Cavaliers defeated the Detroit Pistons 107-90 on Wednesday and took a 2-0 lead in their first-round series. Game 3 is Friday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) at Detroit.
The Cavaliers shot 52.6% on three-pointers and made 20 three-pointers, tying the NBA’s playoff record for most threes in a game. The record is shared by four teams, including last season’s Golden State Warriors.
"I don’t care if you’re left by yourself, 20 of 38 is pretty good three-point shooting," Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said. "You have to give them a lot of credit for that. But I didn’t think our closeouts were good, and I didn’t think we did a very good job of finding shooters in transition. There’s no question we could’ve done a better job, but they shot the ball very, very well."
Smith made seven three-pointers, Irving had four, Kevin Love had three, James had two and Richard Jefferson, Matthew Dellavedova, Channing Frye and Jordan McRae each had one.
"It's great to be a part of history when you’re going along a path that you’re trying to accomplish," James said. :Along that way, when things happen like that, you never take it for granted."
Smith made five of his three-pointers in the first half and two more in the third quarter.
"I was open, so I shot the ball. It’s kind of simple for me," Smith said. "Obviously, I have some great teammates who are willing to make the open pass. I’m just fortunate to be in the situation to make them."
Delivering a punishing offensive and defensive attack in the second half, the Cavaliers outscored the Pistons 52-37 in the final two quarters.
James had 27 points on 12-for-18 shooting and six rebounds, Irving scored 22 points and Smith had 21. It was the second consecutive game that three Cavaliers had at least 20 points. Love added 16 points and 10 rebounds, his second consecutive double-double.
The Pistons were down just two at halftime and led 60-55 with 10:24 remaining in the third quarter. Van Gundy is right. His team isn’t going to back down from top-seeded Cleveland.
But the Cavaliers took off on a 16-2 run – Irving had seven points, and James, Love and Smith each made a three-pointer – extending their lead to double-digits late in the third quarter before they finished the Pistons off in the final quarter.
"We had stretches in the game, both in the second and third quarter, where their runs took our minds for about three minutes at a time where we just stopped doing what we were supposed to do, especially on the defensive end of the floor and made a lot of mistakes," Van Gundy said.
The Cavs also received quality production from their bench, but not necessarily in points. Dellavedova had eight points and nine assists, and guard Iman Shumpert had two points, two assists and six rebounds. Frye had four rebounds and three points.
It was questioned whether the Pistons could sustain their hot shooting from Game 1, and it was a worthy concern. The Pistons shot 43.6% from the field and just 23.5% on threes in Game 2.
Detroit center Andre Drummond (4-for-16 on foul shots) had 20 points, and guard Reggie Jackson had 14 but just two after halftime.
2016 NBA playoffs: Best of the first round
