DETROIT — Max Strus and Darius Garland each scored 22 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers handed the Detroit Pistons their 17th straight loss, 110-101 on Saturday.
The Pistons are 2-18, with the losing streak the longest in one season in franchise history and second-longest overall behind a 21-game slide at the end of the 1979-80 season and start of 1980-81. They haven’t won since Oct. 28 against Chicago and are 4-41 since last season’s trade deadline.
Donovan Mitchell added 20 points for Celeveland, and Jarrett Allen had 19 points and 11 rebounds. Cade Cunningham had 23 points and 11 assists for Detroit, while Bojan Bogdanovic scored 22 points in his season debut.
Detroit started the second half with a 10-0 run to take a 58-54 lead, and pushed the advantage to eight. Cleveland, though, used an 11-0 run to take an 81-77 lead with 1:13 left in the quarter.
Detroit outscored the Cavaliers 34-31 in the period, but Allen’s layup with 2.1 seconds left put Cleveland up 85-82 going into the fourth and the Cavs quickly took a 10-point lead.
Jaden Ivey’s free throw pulled Detroit to 96-92 with 6:01 left, but Bogdanovic missed a tying 3-pointer with 3:29 left. Garland scored at the other end and, after another Bogdanovic miss, Mitchell made it 104-97.
Jalen Duren missed two free throws with 2:13 to play, and Allen’s tip put it away.
UP NEXT
Cavaliers: Host Orlando on Wednesday night.
Pistons: Host Memphis on Wednesday night.
Cleveland 110, Detroit 101
CLEVELAND (110)
E.Mobley 2-5 2-3 6, Strus 9-16 0-0 22, Allen 8-9 3-5 19, Garland 9-23 2-3 22, Mitchell 7-19 4-5 20, Niang 5-8 1-2 12, T.Thompson 0-1 0-0 0, Okoro 4-6 0-0 9, Merrill 0-1 0-0 0, Porter Jr. 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 44-88 12-18 110.
DETROIT (101)
Hayes 6-11 0-1 13, Stewart 4-9 2-2 11, Duren 8-8 1-6 17, Cunningham 8-20 4-4 23, Ivey 2-7 3-4 7, Livers 0-1 0-0 0, Bagley III 0-1 0-0 0, A.Thompson 2-6 0-0 4, Bogdanovic 7-15 5-6 22, Sasser 2-5 0-0 4. Totals 39-83 15-23 101.
Cleveland 25 29 31 25 — 110
Detroit 30 18 34 19 — 101
3-Point Goals_Cleveland 10-30 (Strus 4-10, Mitchell 2-5, Garland 2-7, Okoro 1-3, Niang 1-4, Merrill 0-1), Detroit 8-29 (Cunningham 3-6, Bogdanovic 3-9, Hayes 1-1, Stewart 1-5, Livers 0-1, A.Thompson 0-2, Sasser 0-2, Ivey 0-3). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_Cleveland 43 (Allen 12), Detroit 48 (Duren 11). Assists_Cleveland 24 (Garland 6), Detroit 24 (Cunningham 11). Total Fouls_Cleveland 18, Detroit 20. A_18,924 (20,491)
