Austin Daye fancies a close Detroit Pistons win over Cleveland Cavaliers - NBA Preseason Recap
The preseason opener between Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons was exciting and kept crowd on the edge of their seats throughout, however the second game between both turned out to be even better.
This time though, the Pistons had the last laugh as they avenged their close loss last week by holding their nerves in the clutch, edging past the Cavaliers 90-89.
Cleveland were heading to a win, ahead by 89-86 with less than 12 seconds remaining, however Will Bynum first lifted a layup to make it 88-89 and then Austin Daye hit two free throws with three seconds remaining on the clock. Cavaliers
did get a last chance but Luke Harangody messed up an open jumper.
Daye finished the night with a game high 19 points including 2 for 4 from the long range and an accurate 7 for 7 from the free throw line. Rodney Stuckey was quick and used his pace to draw many fouls from Cavaliers, which allowed
him end with 15 points on 10 for 10 from the charity stripe. Greg Monroe and Will Bynum both accumulated 12 each while Jonas Jerebko had 11 for the winners.
Omri Casspi scored 18 for Cavaliers while Antawn Jamison drained 13 on 5 for 6 from the charity stripe. Anthony Parker had 12 points.
Pistons started the game with a 10-3 run, capped by Austin’s free throw and despite a 12-5 run by Cavaliers midway through the frame, they ended the first quarter with a 4 point lead 30-26
Cleveland battled out the second quarter brilliantly.
They stayed neck to neck with Pistons throughout and with two minutes remaining, they were trailing behind by just a point 44-43. Parker and Anderson Varejao combined forces at this point and completed a 7-2 run, which helped them
in getting a 50-46 lead by the end of first half.
Carrying the momentum into next quarter, the Cavaliers reeled off an 8-0 run in the opening minutes to completely turn the momentum to their side. Stuckey, Monroe and Daye kept on fighting from the other end and kept Detroit in
the hunt, but still, they could not eliminate the deficit completely, as the quarter ended with Cavaliers ahead 67-62.
Casspi and Ryan Hollins struck early in the deciding frame to boost the lead to 8 points 70-62, however what happened in next few minutes stunned them.
Pistons bolted a magnificent 17-3 run that completely changed the game. Fortunately for the Cavaliers, they did not succumb to the pressure and responded with yet another 8-0 crucial spree to make it 81-79.
They managed to stay ahead in the next few minutes, however in the end; it all came down to Daye’s free throws.
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