The Cleveland Cavaliers almost made it four wins in a row on Sunday at home against the East-leading Detroit Pistons. Donovan Mitchell and Co. surged late but ultimately were too worn down to complete a fourth-quarter comeback.
Of course, physically wearing you down is one of the main ways that Detroit beats you this year. Sure, the Pistons have an All-NBA talent in Cade Cunningham to put the ball in the bucket and control the game offensively, but it's their hard-nose defense that wins games.
This all makes sense within the context of the Pistons' history. Whether it was the Bad Boy Pistons of the late 1980s or the Ben Wallace-led Pistons defense of the mid-2000s, winning big in Detroit has always been delivered by gritty defense.