Darius Garland scores 21 points, Cavaliers rout Pistons 114-90

CLEVELAND(AP) — Darius Garland had 21 points and seven assists, DonovanMitchell scored 20 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers led by 35points in a 114-90 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Saturdaynight.

Evan Mobleyhad 16 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and four blocked shots,Jarrett Allen scored 15 points and Caris LeVert had 11. TheCavaliers are fourth in the Eastern Conference with 16 gamesleft.

All-Starstarter Mitchell, who sprained a finger on his left hand in thethird quarter, and Garland only played 24 minutes apiece as theCavaliers swept the four-game season series with Detroit. ThePistons were held below 95 points in each.

Clevelandis 40-26 and leads surging New York by 1 1/2 games for home-courtadvantage in the first round of the playoffs.

MarvinBagley III had 20 points and 13 rebounds for Detroit. The Pistonshave the second-worst record in the NBA at 15-49 and are 0-11 inthe Central Division. They have lost seven straight overall andseven in a row on the road.

Detroitplayed without four starters in center Jalen Duran (bilateral anklesoreness), forwards Bojan Bogdanovic (bilateral Achilles soreness)and Isaiah Stewart (right hip soreness) and guard Cade Cunningham(left tibia stress fracture).

Neitherteam led by double-digits until Mobley made a floater to open thethird quarter, putting Cleveland up 56-45.

RickyRubio’s 3-pointer early in the fourth gave the Cavaliers theirlargest advantage at 102-67.

Pistonsrookie Buddy Boeheim — the son of Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim —scored his first NBA points on a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter.He only played one minute without taking a shot in his one previousgame.

CHANGE OF SCENERY

Pistonscenter James Wiseman has seen his playing time double since beingacquired in a Feb. 9 trade with Golden State. The second overallpick in the 2020 draft averaged 11.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 24.7minutes over his first five games with Detroit. “I love him, Ithink he’s a sponge,” coach Dwane Casey said. “He’s just raw and wehave an opportunity to be patient with him, which Golden Statedidn’t.”

TIP-INS

Pistons:Duren is averaging an NBA rookie-high 8.7 rebounds. The Memphisproduct has missed four straight games. … F Isaiah Livers (leftankle sprain) returned from a one-game absence. … F Eugene Omoruyi,who made two starts and played in 23 games with Oklahoma City thisseason, signed a 10-day contract.

Cavaliers:Mitchell and C Jarrett Allen both appeared in their 400th NBAgames, while F Isaac Okoro played in his 200th. … Garland committedfour fouls in the first half. … G Sam Merrill signed a 10-daycontract to fill the roster spot that was held by F Kevin Lovebefore his release. Merrill was averaging 16.4 points with theCleveland Charge of the G League, setting a team record with 103-pointers against Greensboro on Feb. 22.

UPNEXT

Pistons:Host Portland on Monday night.

Cavaliers:Host Boston on Monday night.