Halftime Report
Only two more quarters stand between the Cavaliers and the victory they were favored to collect coming into this evening. They have jumped out to a 55-45 lead against the Pistons.
The Cavaliers entered the match with three straight losses and they’re well on their way to making it four. Can they turn things around, or will the Pistons hand them another defeat? Only time will tell.
Who’s Playing
Detroit Pistons @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Current Records: Detroit 23-22, Cleveland 36-9
How To Watch
- When: Monday, January 27, 2025 at 7 p.m. ET
- Where: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse — Cleveland, Ohio
- TV: NBATV
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $10.38
What to Know
The Cavaliers will be playing the full four quarters on Monday, but they’re expected to have things wrapped up well before that. They will host the Detroit Pistons at 7:00 p.m. ET at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The Cavaliers are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they’ve averaged 122 points per game this season.
The Cavaliers are headed into Monday’s contest looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their third straight game on Saturday. They took a 135-131 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Rockets. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.
Despite the loss, the Cavaliers got top-tier performance from Darius Garland, who shot 4-for-7 from long range and almost dropped a double-double on 39 points and nine assists. Garland’s evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least 30 points. Donovan Mitchell was another key player, posting 33 points plus seven assists and two steals.
Meanwhile, the Pistons came up short against the Magic on Saturday and fell 121-113. Detroit got off to an early lead (up 12 with 0:05 left in the first quarter), but sadly they weren’t able to maintain that momentum.
The Pistons’ defeat came about despite a quality game from Cade Cunningham, who dropped a double-double on 35 points and 11 assists. Cunningham is on a roll when it comes to points, as he’s now scored 29 or more in the last three games he’s played.
Cleveland’s loss dropped their record down to 36-9. As for Detroit, their defeat ended a four-game streak of away wins and brought them to 23-22.
Monday’s game is shaping up to be a scrappy match: The Cavaliers haven’t given up the ball easily this season, having only averaged 12.4 turnovers per game (they’re ranked fourth in turnovers per game overall). It’s a different story for the Pistons, though, as they’ve been averaging 15.2. Given the Cavaliers’ sizable advantage in that area, the Pistons will need to find a way to close that gap.
The Cavaliers were able to grind out a solid win over the Pistons in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, winning 113-101. Will the Cavaliers repeat their success, or do the Pistons have a better game plan this time around? We’ll find out soon enough.
Odds
Cleveland is a big 10.5-point favorite against Detroit, according to the latest NBA odds.
The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 10.5-point spread, and stayed right there.
The over/under is 235.5 points.
See NBA picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Series History
Cleveland has won all of the games they’ve played against Detroit in the last 3 years.
- Oct 25, 2024 – Cleveland 113 vs. Detroit 101
- Mar 01, 2024 – Cleveland 110 vs. Detroit 100
- Jan 31, 2024 – Cleveland 128 vs. Detroit 121
- Dec 02, 2023 – Cleveland 110 vs. Detroit 101
- Nov 17, 2023 – Cleveland 108 vs. Detroit 100
- Mar 04, 2023 – Cleveland 114 vs. Detroit 90
- Feb 08, 2023 – Cleveland 113 vs. Detroit 85
- Nov 27, 2022 – Cleveland 102 vs. Detroit 94
- Nov 04, 2022 – Cleveland 112 vs. Detroit 88
- Mar 19, 2022 – Cleveland 113 vs. Detroit 109
