Garland scores 24 points, Cavaliers beat Pistons 113-109

Updated Mar. 19, 2022 10:47 p.m. ET

Associated Press

CLEVELAND (AP) — All-Star point guard Darius Garland had 24 points and 12 assists, Evan Mobley had his NBA rookie-high 20th double-double and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons 113-109 on Saturday night.

Mobley finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Cedi Osman scored 16 points and Kevin Love had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who earned their 41st win to clinch their first non-losing season in four years.

Jerami Grant scored 27 of his season-high 40 points in the first half and No. 1 overall draft pick Cade Cunningham added 15 points and 10 assists for Detroit. Saddiq Bey had 20 points, following up his career-best 51 at Orlando two days earlier.

Cleveland extended its lead to 1 1/2 games over Toronto for sixth place in the Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers trailed 80-68 in the third quarter, but outscored Detroit 31-9 over the next 9:18 to take command and win for the 18th time in their last 23 home games.

Cleveland completed a back-to-back set after rallying from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter and beating Denver 119-116 in overtime Friday.

The Cavaliers are 3-1 on their longest homestand of the season, a five-gamer that concludes Monday against LeBron James and the Lakers. All-Star center Jarrett Allen missed his seventh straight game with a broken finger on his left hand.

Detroit has lost five of six and has the second-worst record in the East at 19-52.

A dunk by Marvin Bagley III gave the Pistons their largest lead at 80-68 in the third, but Cleveland outscored them 14-1 to end the quarter up 82-81. Love made three 3-pointers in the surge.

Grant was 6 of 7 on 3-pointers as Detroit built a 60-55 advantage in the first half. The Pistons used a 14-0 run, with six players scoring, midway through the second quarter to erase Cleveland’s 36-27 lead.

Garland had 15 points for the Cavaliers, who missed 10 of their 12 3-pointers and committed eight turnovers before intermission. Grant scored 15 points in the opening period.

ROOKIES ON THE RISE

Cunningham, Mobley and Raptors F Scottie Barnes are the top candidates for the Rookie of the Year award. Thunder G Josh Giddey, Rockets G Jalen Green and Magic F Franz Wagner also are in the upper tier of a very deep group.

“This is going to go down as a top-three or four draft class of all-time,” Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “There are so many guys who can play at a high level and play the game more maturely than their age.”

Detroit coach Dwane Casey views the class similarly, saying, “It’s been a while since we’ve seen a group like this. You could make a case for each player, but I’m very biased for Cade.”

TIP-INS

Pistons: G Killian Hayes (head contusion) was not in uniform after being hurt Thursday at Orlando. … G Frank Jackson (lumbar spine spasm), G Hamidou Diallo (left finger sprain) and two-way G Chris Smith (left knee sprain) were unavailable. … C Luka Garza is on a G League assignment with the Motor City Cruise. … Detroit has a three-game home winning streak against Cleveland.

Cavaliers: G Rajon Rondo (right ankle sprain) worked out on the court late in the afternoon, but was inactive for the fourth game in a row. … F Dean Wade (right knee soreness) has not played since March 12 at Chicago. … Cleveland went to overtime twice in a three-game span, beating the Clippers and Nuggets, after not going beyond regulation in its first 67 contests.

UP NEXT

Pistons: Host the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night.

Cavaliers: Host the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night.

___

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports