NBA Game Summary - Cleveland at Detroit
11.28.2003
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Auburn Hills, MI (Basketball News) - Richard Hamilton posted a career-high 44 points to lead the Detroit Pistons to a hard-fought, 92-88 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
Elden Campbell had a season-high 13 points and Tayshaun Prince contributed 12 with seven assists and six rebounds, and the Pistons won for the sixth time in eight games.
Ricky Davis led the Cavaliers with 25 points, but fell apart down the stretch, and Cleveland lost its 31st straight road game, dating back to last season. Chris Mihm and Zydrunas Ilgauskas each collected 14 points for the Cavaliers, who lost their fifth straight game overall.
Cleveland trailed for most of the game, occasionally by double-digits, but clawed to within two points at 71-69 to open the fourth quarter. The Cavs took the lead three minutes in on a basket by Mihm, but Detroit ended a seven- minute scoreless stretch with a Hamilton bucket to tie things at 73 apiece with seven minutes to play.
The Cavaliers opened up a lead as large as five at 79-74 when LeBron James scored with 5:20 to go. But Detroit dominated down the stretch, as the Cavs jacked up bad shots and turned the ball over during a 10-0 Pistons run.
Hamilton’s pair of free throws with a minute and a half left capped the spurt and gave Detroit an 84-79 advantage. Cleveland could get no closer than three
The Pistons opened up a 9-2 lead to start the game and grabbed their largest advantage at 11 points at 27-16 on a Mehmet Okur basket with less than four minutes to go in the first quarter. Detroit led 33-24 after the first 12 minutes, with Hamilton knocking down 14 points.
The pace slowed considerably in the second quarter, and at the 7:03 mark, the Cavaliers pulled to within four points at 41-37 on an Ira Newble basket. However, Cleveland would get no closer for the remainder of the half, and the Pistons held a 52-45 advantage at the break.
Hamilton led all scorers with 22 in the first 24 minutes.
Cleveland kept within striking distance throughout early stages of the third quarter, but Okur’s basket with less than five minutes left in the stanza gave the Pistons a 69-59 edge.
But Detroit went cold from there, and Mihm’s hoop with 30 seconds to go ended a 10-2 run and pulled the Cavs to within a basket heading into the final period.
