CLEVELAND _ Larry Nance Jr. has been through several firsts since a Feb. 8 trade with the Los Angeles Lakers brought him home.
There was his first game in Cleveland, where his father, Larry Sr., starred from 1987-94. There was his first time wearing his dad's retired No. 22, with the NBA bending the rules to allow him to switch numbers during the season.
But those were emotional moments, largely forgotten when the action began. Nance's first start Monday night against the Detroit Pistons at Quicken Loans Arena could alter the course of his season, and perhaps the Cavaliers as well.
Taking advantage of a sprained right ankle suffered by Tristan Thompson on Saturday against Denver, Nance made a spectacular debut with the Cavs' top unit. If he continues to replicate the scoring punch he showed against the Pistons, he may push Thompson to the second team when he returns.
Nance and LeBron James combined to score the Cavs' first 20 points as the Cavs cruised past the Pistons 112-90 to end their homestand 2-3. On Wednesday the Cavs open a six-game, five-city road trip in Denver.
The Cavs improved to 5-4 with four new players acquired at the trade deadline.
The Cavs took the season series with the Pistons 3-1 and won their fourth consecutive home game against Detroit, all by at least 17 points. It was the only matchup of the teams since the Pistons debut of Blake Griffin, acquired in a Jan. 29 trade with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Coming off his 13th triple-double of the season against the Nuggets on Saturday, James scored 31 points with seven rebounds and seven assists in 29 minutes, sitting out the fourth quarter.
With the Cavs searching for a reliable second scorer until Kevin Love returns from injury, Nance filled that void, contributing 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting with 15 rebounds in 32 minutes. He also hit 4-of-5 from the free-throw line.
Nance may not have been the only one who earned another chance in the lineup. Rodney Hood made his second start and statistically it was only slightly better than his first against the 76ers on Thursday. Against the Pistons, Hood connected on 4-of-12 field goals, but went 5-for-5 from the line for 13 points in 30 minutes.
But in terms of a cohesive unit, James, Nance, Hood, George Hill and J.R. Smith seemed to be the best group coach Tyronn Lue has tried since three trades with four teams remade the Cavs roster at the deadline. Only Smith failed to deliver, taking only three shots and going scoreless in 22 minutes with three assists.
Nance exploded for 11 points and seven rebounds in the first quarter, hitting 5-of-5 from the field, including two shots from the key. Jordan Clarkson connected on a jumper with 1:47 to play in the quarter that ended the Akron duo's dominance.
In the first half, Nance was on the receiving end of some spectacular alley-oops for dunks. One from James gave the Cavs a 40-38 second-quarter lead, another on a flip pass from Smith made it 44-38.
On a few occasions early, Nance looked like he was going to turn the ball over in the lane, but he was able to corral it with his long arms, taking advantage of his 7-foot-2 wingspan.
The game also marked a rare appearance by point guard Jose Calderon, 36. Calderon had played a total of eight minutes in three games since Feb. 9, but started the second quarter with Clarkson, Kyle Korver, Cedi Osman and Ante Zizic.
With the Cavs frontcourt without Thompson, Jeff Green (low back soreness) and Love (broken left hand), Lue was forced to use Zizic, who has excelled with the G League's Canton Charge but had played just 48 minutes in 16 games with the Cavs. Zizic responded with four points and three rebounds in five first-half minutes and finished with six points and six rebounds in 16 minutes.
Griffin led the Pistons with 25 points and eight rebounds, and Andre Drummond had 15 points and nine rebounds.
