Final Score: Cleveland Cavaliers beat Detroit Pistons 108-100

For the first time all season, the Cleveland Cavaliers are winners of two straight. With their 108-100 win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday, the Cavs have a winning streak for the first time this year.

Nightly Notables:

With no Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland stepped up as a scorer, finishing with 28 points to lead the Cavs. He was 10-19 from the field along with 6-8 from the line. He also had 3 assists vs. five turnovers.

Evan Mobley and Max Strus added 18 points each for the Cavs. Rookie Craig Porter Jr., in nearly 16 minutes off of Cleveland’s bench, added 12 points and 5 assists with no turnovers.

Well, that happened…

Max Strus, for a second straight game, caught a body. Look at this man go.

Big Picture

This was an NBA Cup game and the Cavs needed it if they wanted any chance of having a shot to reach Las Vegas. The Cavs are 1-1 in the group with games against the 76ers and Hawks left to play. Cleveland will probably need to win both, but winning against Detroit gave them a shot at least.

The Cavs also took care of a business against a team they should beat. The Pistons put up a fight and had moments where they got back into the game after Cleveland got a bigger lead. Ausur Thompson especially caused some problems for Cleveland with his work on the offensive glass.

But every single time Detroit made a push, Cleveland responded. They took care of a business and are now at .500 on the season. Considering all of the injuries and dysfunction, they could be a much worse place.

Up next is also a bigger challenge in the Denver Nuggets on Sunday. Even with Jamal Murray out, the Nuggets are a massive step up for the Cavs. Tipoff is at 6 p.m. on Sunday, which should be a little bit after the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers wrap up. It’s going to be a busy sports Sunday in Cleveland.