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The Cavs trailed by 17 points late in the third quarter, but rallied to escape with a stirring comeback win.
Kyrie Irving and the Cavs will host the Pistons on Tuesday in their second-to-last game before the All-Star break.
Cleveland is coming off a 93-92 win over Sacramento on Sunday, moving them to 12-17 to stay a half-game ahead of Milwaukee in the East and 2.5 games ahead of Detroit.
Since returning from a three-game absence last Wednesday, Kyrie Irving has continued his outstanding rookie campaign. He has averaged better than 20 points in his three games back, and on Sunday nailed the winning free throws with less than a second remaining to steal the win from Sacramento.
Rookie forward Tristan Thompson had missed six of nine games with a gimpy ankle, but he returned 11 days ago and has been playing some of his best ball of the season. He had a game-high 13 rebounds in his return against Milwaukee, and recorded his first double-double of the season Sunday against Sacramento, going for 15 and 12.
Thompson should be logging heavy minutes over the next few weeks, as Anderson Varejao is expected to miss at least a month with a broken wrist.
Tuesday’s game starts at 7 Eastern and will be on Fox Sports Ohio and NBA League Pass.
For more on the Cleveland Cavaliers, go to Fear The Sword. You can also head over to SB Nation's main NBA hub at SBNation.com/NBA.
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Cavaliers Vs. Pistons Final Score: Cleveland Mounts Comeback, Escapes 101-100
The Cleveland Cavaliers stormed all the way back from a 17-point deficit to steal victory from the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night at Quickens Loan Arena, 101-100.
Antawn Jamison paced the Cavs with 32 points and 10 rebounds, and Kyrie Irving added 25 points while leading a furious fourth-quarter comeback. Trailing 77-66 entering the final frame, Cleveland quickly mounted its charge, drawing ahead with just less than six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter on a Jamison three.
The Pistons briefly regained the lead but Irving continued to orchestrate the surge, finishing with 17 points in the final quarter and pushing Cleveland to a 95-92 lead on a left-handed layup with just more than a minute left.
Detroit again responded, this time with a Brandon Knight three that tied the score. But Alonzo Gee grabbed an offensive rebound and threw down a two-handed dunk with just 25.4 seconds remaining to give Cleveland a 97-95 advantage.
The Cavs sealed the comeback victory with perfect free throw shooting down the stretch, and Ben Gordon's buzzer-beating three proved useless except to his scoring average.
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For more on the Cleveland Cavaliers, go to Fear The Sword. You can also head over to SB Nation's main NBA hub at SBNation.com/NBA.
Feb 21 8:37p by Jay_King