11 Stats to explain the Cavs 113-109 win over Pistons

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers, without the services of Donovan Mithell, were able to avenge Friday’s loss to the Detroit Pistons by defeating them 113-109 on Tuesday evening.

The stats in the table below are taken from Cleaning the Glass.

Now, let’s dive into the numbers.

• Cade Cunningham went just 4-16 from the field. Head coach Kenny Atkinson called keeping him in check “the key to the game.” Cleveland didn’t have Dean Wade to guard Cunningham, but they were able to do it by committee as Jaylon Tyson and Keon Ellis stepped up in this matchup. It’s worth noting that Cunningham still had 14 assists, which speaks to how good of a player he is.
• The Pistons lost Cunningham’s minutes by 11. Cunningham drives everything that the Pistons do. If they aren’t succesful when he’s playing, they likely aren’t winning the game.
• Cleveland’s bench outscored Detroit’s 38-32. The Cavs received multiple big contributions off the bench. Their ability to stretch the lead in the second and third quarters was critical to getting this game over the finish line.
• The Cavs won the minutes Thomas Bryant was on the floor by 12. Jarrett Allen went down in the third quarter with a knee injury. This thrust Bryant into more critical minutes, and he performed admirably providing nine points and five rebounds in 16 minutes. “What a signing by our front office,” Atkinson said afterward. “He gives teams trouble because he can stretch the floor. … That’s really hard to defend.”
• Dennis Schroder provided 15 bench-points. Cleveland outscored Detroit by 16 when Schroder played. His scoring and ability to set up others has trasformed this team. This was a huge pickup at the deadline that has been unfairly overshadowed by James Harden.
• Jaylon Tyson went 5-12 from three. Teams are yet to treat Tyson as a bona fide three-point shooter. That should probably change as he’s made nights like this look routine as he came into this one shooting 46% from deep — the third-highest percentage in the league this season.
• Both teams had 11 second-chance points. The Pistons can really hurt opponents on the glass as they’re second in offensive-rebonding this season. Cleveland neutralized that advantage as they did a great job cleaning the glass. This went a long way in securing the victory.
• Cleveland turned it over just three times in the first three quarters. One of the best ways to ensure you have a good offense is to get a shot attempt every time down the court. The Cavs nearly did that. Doing this against a Detroit team that came into this one turning over their opponent more than anyone else in the league is quite impressive.
• The Cavs coughed it up seven times in the fourth quarter leading to 11 points of turnovers for the Pistons. If you want to know why this game became a little too closer for comfort down the stretch, look no further than the late giveaways.
• Cleveland is now 8-1 when Harden plays. This includes big wins over the Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks, and now the Pistons. He wasn’t great in this game going, 5-17 from the field with five giveaways, but they likely don’t win this late without his ability to orchestrate the late-game offense.
• The Cavs went 7-12 on corner threes. They were deadly from this spot on the floor. The drive-and-kick game from Harden helped. Three of his seven assists led to corner triples.