The Detroit Pistons thought they were in the heads of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
They weren't.
Cleveland overcame a slow first half, then used a flurry of late three-pointers to hold off the Pistons' fourth-quarter rally to seal a 101-91 win and a 3-0 lead in the series.
Detroit rode the energy from the home crowd to build a 19-13 lead in the opening minutes, but the Cavs clawed their way back into it and led 54-53 at the break. They extended that lead to six in the third quarter, and held the Pistons at arm's length the rest of the way.
Kyrie Irving put forth another excellent performance to lead the Cavs, pouring in 26 points - including a key three to push Cleveland's lead to eight with 43 seconds left. Kevin Love (20 points, 12 rebounds) and LeBron (20 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists) also played well with double-double performances.
Detroit was led by 18 points from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and 17 from Andre Drummond as all five starters scored in double figures, but it wasn't enough. They shot just 26.1 percent from three-point range as a team and were outrebounded 46-32 by the Cavs.
The Pistons will try to fight off elimination in Game 4 on Sunday. Tip off is set for 8:30 pm ET on TNT.
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