Cleveland — Pistons coach Dwane Casey was well aware of the inclination. He didn’t want his players to look past the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers, who were already eliminated from the playoff picture and seemingly don’t have much to play for.
Consider that the Pistons were resting Blake Griffin and the Cavaliers sitting Kevin Love, and the danger turned into looking past the Cavaliers, to the western trip starting on Thursday.
Casey’s words came to fruition, as the Cavaliers stayed close in the fourth quarter and kicked into another gear in the final minutes, taking a 126-119 victory on Monday night at Quicken Loans Arena.