‘Big Three’ fire as Cavaliers beat Pistons

Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love are healthy again and the Cleveland Cavaliers are primed for another playoff run. Irving scored 31 points, Love had a playoff career-high 28 with 13 rebounds and the Cavaliers rallied for a 106-101 home victory over the stubborn Detroit Pistons on Sunday in the opener of their Eastern Conference first-round series.
Irving suffered a broken knee cap in last year’s Finals after Love was lost in the first round of the playoffs with a dislocated left shoulder. Both former All-Stars have recovered and shone brightly in their first post-season appearances since the injuries.
“It felt good to be back,” Love said. “Kyrie and myself, we’ve had many conversations. We both got hurt in last year’s playoffs and we want to look at this as an opportunity.”  
James was delighted to have the “Big Three” together again, giving the Cavs additional firepower in their quest for that elusive NBA Championship after finishing runnerup to Golden State last year.
“For these two guys, they were just excited to get back to this moment,” James said. “These guys have been working hard - Kyrie on his knee, Kevin on his shoulder - just to get back to this moment. It was great to be out on the floor with them and for them to put together the performance that they did.”
James collected 22 points with 11 assists as the top-seeded Cavs overcame a seven-point deficit early in the fourth quarter with a 30-18 run in the final 11 minutes to get past the pesky eighth-seeded Pistons.  “Our ‘Big Three’ was phenomenal today,” said Cavs coach Tyronn Lue, whose trio collected 81 points in the win.  
Making their first post-season appearance since 2009, the upset-minded Pistons gave the defending Eastern Conference champions all they could handle. After taking three of four in the regular-season games in the series, Detroit led 83-76 in the opening minute of the fourth quarter and appeared to have the momentum. But James was reinserted in the lineup and the Cavs stiffened up their defence.  
Cleveland went on a 12-2 run to go ahead 88-85 before a Reggie Jackson 3-pointer squared it. Love then buried back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Cavs ahead, 94-90 with 4:51 remaining.  
“My mentality was to be aggressive with a can-do mentality all night,” Love said, “We have to do that the entire series.”
Detroit trailed 96-92, when Jackson was hit with a technical foul for complaining to a referee over a missed call. Irving made the free throw, and added another opening up a six-point lead.
“I wish they’d seen the obvious of me get slapped on the arm,” said Jackson, who finished with 17 points. “I had to let them know.”
A Jackson three-point play pulled the Pistons within 98-95 before Irving flipped in a nifty layup. After Detroit drew within 100-96, James banked in a layup and Irving tossed in two more free throws to seal the win.  
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope netted 21 while Marcus Morris 20 but just one in the second half for the Pistons, who knocked down 15 3-pointers in the loss. Despite the tough loss, the Pistons remain confident they can pull off the upset. Cleveland hosts Game 2 tomorrow at Quicken Loans Arena.

Miami Heat 123, Charlotte Hornets 91
Luol Deng scored 31 points, Hassan Whiteside had 21 with 11 rebounds and the third-seeded Heat set a franchise record for most points in a playoff game after crushing the visiting Hornets in the opener of their Eastern Conference first-round series.
Frenchman Nicolas Batum scored 24 points for the sixth-seeded Hornets, who have dropped 11 consecutive post-season contests since 2002. Game 2 is tomorrow in Miami.

Spurs 106, Memphis Grizzlies 74
Kawhi Leonard scored 20 points, LaMarcus Aldridge had 17 and the second-seeded Spurs sent the sixth-seeded Grizzlies to their worst-ever playoff loss in the opener of their Western Conference first-round series.
Vince Carter had 16 points for the injury-depleted Grizzlies, who dropped to 8-41 all-time against the Spurs. San Antonio hosts Game 2 today at the AT&T Center.

LA Clippers 115, Trail Blazers 95
Chris Paul collected 28 points with 11 assists, Blake Griffin had 19 points and 12 rebounds, as the fourth-seeded Clippers cruised past the fifth-seeded Trail Blazers in the opener of their Western Conference first round series.
Damian Lillard topped visiting Portland with 21 points. The Clippers host Game 2 tomorrow at Staples Center.