(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI -- The Cleveland Cavaliers once again found themselves shallow in the point guard department, with Darius Garland sitting out Thursday night due to lingering back pain. The severe lack of weapons and depth for the Cavaliers gave them trouble against a scrappy Pistons squad. Cleveland battled back to get within a bucket in the closing seconds, but a Goodwin three ball rattled off the rim to give the Detroit Pistons a 106-104 win over the visiting Cavaliers.
The Cleveland Cavaliers struggled at the charity stripe in a losing effort, missing 11 free throws out of 34 total attempts. In his first game back from a long injury recovery, Lauri Markkanen went on to lead the team in scoring with 22 points. BRandon Goodwin stepped into the backup guard role and was efficient off the bench, scoring 15 points on 50% shooting from the field.
Cleveland will take Friday off before hosting the Washington Wizards on Saturday evening. Tip-off is set for 8:00 pm ET at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio.