The Cavaliers show fight in topping the Pistons in last road game of season.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- In a meaningless game at the end of a long and lost season, the Cavaliers found a way to find meaning one last time in a 110-101 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Monday.
They played with fight, outlasting a Detroit team sparked by a rowdy crowd at the Palace of Auburn Hills after Charlie Villanueva and Ryan Hollins collided, shoved each other in the face, were ejected and caused some anxious moments for arena security with 5:47 remaining.
Villanueva escalated the incident when after he learned of the ejection, he charged the Cavaliers' bench and had to be held back by teammate Rodney Stuckey and an assistant coach. As he was dragged off into the tunnel, Villanueva appeared to motion toward Hollins to join him, as if signaling he wanted to see the Cavaliers center under the stands.
After both players retreated to their respective locker rooms, Detroit reporters saw Villanueva charge toward the Cavaliers' locker room, only to be halted by security.
After the game, a gate surrounded by security blocked the two locker rooms, and two uniformed police officers stood guard outside the Cavaliers' room. Security at the Palace was taking no chances, with memories of a 2004 brawl that erupted during a Indiana-Detroit game where five Pacers and seven fans earned criminal charges and Ron Artest was suspended for the remainder of the season.
"There's gonna be a lot of fines," J.J. Hickson said after this fracas.
It was a surprisingly feisty game between two teams with a combined 47 victories. The Cavaliers' win nudged them to 18-63, a game better than Minnesota (an overtime loser to Phoenix) in the "race" for the league's worst record.
Villanueva told Detroit reporters that Hollins "said something real smart." Replays showed Villanueva landing a low punch on Hollins when the two collided on a pick. Hollins was not available to reporters.
"I got upset. It should have just stayed on the court," Villanueva said. "I shouldn't have let my emotions get the best of me. It was a heat of the moment thing. I let my emotions get the best of me."
Hollins, a 7-foot center, has found a way to get under the skin of several opponents this season.
"He's got those sharp elbows, he's running around and he's kind of flailing them out every now and then," Cavaliers coach Byron Scott said. "He's probably hit some people this year. Other than that, he's a pretty nice guy."
The Cavaliers already were finding ways to extract meaning from their next-to-last game, as Scott started Semih Erden for the first time. Erden, a 6-11 rookie from Turkey, had played in two games for the Cavaliers as he battled back from injury. He managed 18 minutes against Detroit, scoring five points but not getting a rebound.
Another rookie, Manny Harris, started at shooting guard as Anthony Parker sat with back spasms. Veteran leader Baron Davis found ways to instruct his teammates throughout the contest, sparking them to a lead they never lost when he played the entire third quarter.
Davis had just four points and four assists in 18 minutes, but he had an immeasurable impact as he constantly instructed teammates during breaks. His bad back prevented him from playing in both the second and fourth quarters. His 12 minutes of work in the third, however, was when the Cavaliers outscored the Pistons, 30-18.
Hickson led the Cavaliers with 20 points, while both Ramon Sessions and Daniel Gibson had 17 points.
Scott was happy with the way his team held on after the fight erupted, their 96-85 lead cut to six points before they seized control.
"We kept our composure," Scott said.
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2011/04/cleveland_cavaliers_scuffle_th.html
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