AUBURN HILLS, MICH.: When Kyrie Irving returned to Monday’s game with 10:51 to play and the Cavs down 14, the opportunity was there to do it again. Twenty-four hours after Irving and LeBron James pulled off a stunning fourth-quarter rally against the Golden State Warriors, Irving was in position to do it against the Detroit Pistons.
With no James, however, the Cavs had little chance of duplicating the long odds. That 14-point deficit swelled to 21 in a 106-90 loss at Detroit.
Citing his 40 minutes against the Warriors on Sunday and the fact the game against the Pistons marked the Cavs’ fifth game in seven nights, Tyronn Lue gave James the night off. The result was predictable. The Cavs are now 4-18 in games James doesn’t play since he returned to Cleveland three years ago.
Lue elected to let Irving play despite his 44 minutes because he just returned from an extended rest.
“Kyrie had six days off last week,” Lue said. “Playing five games in seven nights played a big factor in my decision to hold LeBron out tonight.”
It’s the third game James has sat this season for rest. The Cavs have lost all three. It is a recurring trend that certainly is troubling, but the only way it is of real significance would be if James was injured and unable to play during the postseason. Other than that, the record is simply another indication of his importance to this team.
The Cavs never led and trailed by as many as 17 in the second half.
They briefly pulled within 55-54 in the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Kevin Love, but a three-point play by former Cav Jon Leuer and a 3-pointer from Reggie Jackson kept Detroit in front.
The deficit was back to 12 by the start of the fourth and remained in double figures the rest of the way.
James still made the trip to Detroit, and Lue said a final decision wasn’t rendered until Monday morning. Perhaps still smarting from the stinging criticism he received for leaving James, Irving and Kevin Love home when the Cavs played at Memphis recently, Lue made sure to point out James at least made the trip to the Palace.
“We wanted to make sure he’s here and make sure everybody can see him,” Lue said.
Irving scored 18 points and passed for eight assists, and Love had 17 points and 14 rebounds. Tristan Thompson grabbed 10 rebounds but struggled with Andre Drummond, who scored 11 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. Tobias Harris scored 21 points off the bench for the Pistons.
James’ absence forced Lue to reconfigure his rotation since James handles the ball along with Irving. The Cavs needed another true point guard with James resting and turned to rookie Kay Felder, a Detroit native who had 11 points and two assists in 19 minutes.
James is expected back Thursday when the Cavaliers host the Boston Celtics.
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ.