Cavs send Pistons packing and end homestand with 112-90 win; three takeaways

3. Hot third quarter

The Cavs have been known to struggle in the third quarter this year, with sluggish offense and lackluster defense. Those issues were not present on Monday night.

After being up 54-49 at halftime, the Cavs outscored the Pistons 36-21 in the frame, buoyed by LeBron James’ 15 points and four assists, and Rodney Hood’s nine points.

When asked about his third quarter outburst, Hood credited an unlikely source: Kyle Korver.

“Just being a lot more aggressive, just getting to the basket,” Hood said. “I give a lot of credit to Kyle, who obviously he’s the best free throw shooter on the team, but he gave me a technical foul free throw. I hit my next jump shot, I was able to get to the rim. It’s a small thing to a lot of people, but it meant a lot to me and got me going.”

Hood in his nine-point 3Q performance… says a huge part was Kyle Korver giving him that technical free throw. Says it was a little thing “that meant a lot to me.” pic.twitter.com/ShXMcpGPtN

— Ashley Bastock (@AshleyBastock42) March 6, 2018

The game was essentially put to bed after that stretch, allowing the starters to get plenty of rest. It’s something that will hopefully be huge as the team heads out west.

“I haven’t sat out a fourth quarter in a long time and felt good about it,” James said. “I’ve sat out fourth quarters where we were getting tore up, but that was a good win for us.”

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